The Welsh Government’s childcare scheme has been criticised by a local politician failing to help vulnerable parents.
Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds accused the Welsh Government of “missing the mark” on childcare costs and claimed that their current offer “disadvantages our most vulnerable.”
According to statistics from the Bevan Foundation, around 190,000 children in Wales are currently living in relative income poverty. And more than half of those children live in a family where there is at least one child between the ages of 0 and four years-old.
Another report from Oxfam Cymru revealed that 92% of parents felt as though they could not afford to pay for childcare fees.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have now called on the Welsh Government to commit towards a universal childcare system for families across Wales.
The party claims that by helping to lower childcare costs, more parents will be able to return back to work to help better provide for their children.
Commenting on the need for affordable and accessible childcare services, Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds said that “It should be obvious that by cutting down on childcare costs, we can move towards eradicating child poverty.”
She continued: “Across Wales thousands of parents are being forced to decide between paying extortionate childcare fees or leaving work to look after their children themselves. And regardless of what decision they make, these parents and their families are still left financially worse off.
“The Welsh Government’s current childcare scheme misses the mark completely, instead of relieving pressures on parents, they are closing the door on them.
“Current eligibility rules mean that our most vulnerable are left disadvantages, while those who do qualify are often unable to access support due to a lack of availability.
“Pumping more money into a childcare offer that doesn’t work isn’t the answer and it’s time the Welsh Government realised this.
“What we need is a universal healthcare system that works for every family here in Wales, a system that ensures that every parent is able to access affordable childcare services when and where needed.”
Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds accused the Welsh Government of “missing the mark” on childcare costs and claimed that their current offer “disadvantages our most vulnerable.”
According to statistics from the Bevan Foundation, around 190,000 children in Wales are currently living in relative income poverty. And more than half of those children live in a family where there is at least one child between the ages of 0 and four years-old.
Another report from Oxfam Cymru revealed that 92% of parents felt as though they could not afford to pay for childcare fees.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have now called on the Welsh Government to commit towards a universal childcare system for families across Wales.
The party claims that by helping to lower childcare costs, more parents will be able to return back to work to help better provide for their children.
Commenting on the need for affordable and accessible childcare services, Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds said that “It should be obvious that by cutting down on childcare costs, we can move towards eradicating child poverty.”
She continued: “Across Wales thousands of parents are being forced to decide between paying extortionate childcare fees or leaving work to look after their children themselves. And regardless of what decision they make, these parents and their families are still left financially worse off.
“The Welsh Government’s current childcare scheme misses the mark completely, instead of relieving pressures on parents, they are closing the door on them.
“Current eligibility rules mean that our most vulnerable are left disadvantages, while those who do qualify are often unable to access support due to a lack of availability.
“Pumping more money into a childcare offer that doesn’t work isn’t the answer and it’s time the Welsh Government realised this.
“What we need is a universal healthcare system that works for every family here in Wales, a system that ensures that every parent is able to access affordable childcare services when and where needed.”
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NewsTranscript
00:00First Minister, I just wanted to raise the issue of children living in poverty here in
00:04Wales.
00:05One hundred and ninety thousand children in Wales live in relative poverty, and despite
00:10the decades of promises, that number remains unchanged, Iím afraid.
00:14It is heartbreaking and unacceptable when more than half of children in poverty come
00:20from families where there are children under five, and 92 per cent of parents report childcare
00:27costs too high for their income, childcare should obviously be a priority.
00:33Yet, despite overwhelming evidence, this Government continues to deliver a fragmented system that
00:40simply isnít working.
00:42Countries like Scotland show how universal childcare can transform lives and lift children
00:50out of poverty, yet we choose not to follow their lead.
00:55Dumping more money into the childcare offer isnít the answer, not when we have eligibility
01:00rules that disadvantage so many families, particularly those that are vulnerable.
01:06You say ëevery child, every chance, every dayí, and yet children who are living in
01:13poverty are not included in that.
01:16Diolch yn fawr iawn.
01:17Janet Finch-Saunders AM.
01:18Diolch, Jane.
01:19Look, I accept that this is not a situation that I know you, or certainly people on my
01:27benches, are satisfied with.
01:29We hate the thought of children living in poverty.
01:33Weíre very pleased that, at least in primary schools, they have a full belly, so thatís
01:38something that goes towards at least making sure that they are physically well fed.
01:45But I know this is an issue thatís close to your heart, and I know youíve championed
01:48this matter for a long time.
01:49We have given not an insignificant amount to support people to go back to work with
01:55young children to make sure that the costs of childcare are not too inhibitive for people.
02:03Of course, it is something that thereís an opportunity, I guess, to shape this policy
02:09when it comes to the Budget.
02:10I think there are opportunities for us to have further discussions, but we, I think,
02:16and certainly, as a woman, Iím very keen to see this kind of thing championed.
02:23We all have to make really tough decisions and we have to decide what our priorities
02:28are, and this is an area where I think weíre open for more discussions on this issue in
02:37relation, in particular, to the Budget.