Mary Douglas County Councillor for Salisbury

At the Education and Social Services Conference in Birmingham in October, I quizzed the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, Beverley Hughes MP, on the government’s support for parents

Question to Beverley Hughes MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families
I am delighted that you recognise that support for parents is core, and your focus is on outcomes for children. The biggest influence on children are their parents, and their family. The family gives each individual a sense of identity and value, and is the place where we learn to live as part of a wider society.

There is deep and widespread concern that in the rollout of children’s centres and extended schools, the government is focussing more on providing alternative forms of childcare to encourage parents to return to paid employment than on supporting parents as parents.

I was not satisfied with her reply so sent a follow-up letter

Follow-up Letter to Beverly Hughes MP
Dear Mrs Hughes,
At the recent Social Services and Education Conference in Birmingham I expressed the widespread and deep concern that, in the rollout of children’s centres and extended schools, the government is focussing more on encouraging parents to return to paid employment than on supporting parents as parents.

I asked you what strategies you have to support parents to look after their own children. In your reply, you explained that children of age 3 and above do well if they take part in structured group activities, but did not tell me how you intend to support parents as parents.

The main reason for women with young children to return to work is financial. They need to work to support their family. And yet surveys show that a high proportion of women (and men) want to spend more time with their families. This is clearly within the power of government to change – tax, benefit, employment policies could all make it possible for men and women to realise this aspiration.

I suggest that the government subsidise the cost of all childcare, not just childcare provided by a person other than the parent. Pay the money directly to the parent, and give the parents a genuine choice as to how they care for their child.

I suggested this at a recent meeting on childcare led by Denise Burke and Eric Ollerenshaw of the London Development Agency and Alex Frean of The Times. All three agreed that this would be the very best policy.

Local authorities setting up children’s centres should also be given performance indicators that measure the extent of genuine choice and support offered to parents, rather than just recording the number of childcare places provided.

I would be grateful to hear your thoughts on this. Yours sincerely

Reply from Beverley Hughes MP
She said, ‘we believe parents are the most important people in their children’s lives’, ‘We need to start by encouraging and supporting effective parenting in the home’ and ‘We can’t support children in the round without supporting their families’.

However, she still stands by the widely criticised Working Tax Credit, stating that ‘it is right that we give some support to parents, especially working parents’. She rightly states that ‘the majority of the costs of raising a family and caring for a child must rest with the parents’, but still fails to understand the concept of real choice, where the government pays the money directly to the parent, giving the parents a genuine choice as to how they care for their child.