Emphasised the importance of supporting private, voluntary and independent sector childcare providers to ensure that there are enough settings available for children.

Called for increased investment in childcare by £1.75 billion to cover the existing 15-30 hours funded entitlement, enabling women to participate in the workforce.

Stressed that very young children need a nurturing environment rather than early education. Highlighted the importance of secure secondary attachment for babies from chaotic homes.

Argued for parental choice in childcare options, emphasising the decline in available settings and the need to offer a range of choices to meet diverse family needs.

Highlighted the benefits of childcare beyond early education for children, noting that it provides support networks for parents and helps them become better caregivers through interaction with other parents.

Cited the Tangelo Park project in Florida as an example of how investment in early years education can lead to wider community benefits, such as reduced crime and increased prosperity.

Ms Owatemi visited Georgie Porgies Pre-School where she highlighted the challenges faced by early years providers due to rising utility costs, including a 100% increase in bills. She emphasised that these businesses are struggling despite owners' sacrifices and called for systemic change rather than just advice on efficiency improvements. Ms Owatemi also noted that childcare costs in the UK rank third highest globally and criticised the government's lack of action. She expressed concern over the impact on families making difficult choices between work and caring for children, which may lead to career sacrifices. Lastly, she asked the Minister to respond adequately to Katie’s plea to keep her business open.

Acknowledged the work of local breastfeeding support groups in providing essential assistance to new parents during challenging times.

Expressed enthusiasm for early years development and questioned the role of public health in educating parents about attachment theory, suggesting a potential campaign focusing on emotional maturity through strong early attachments involving both mothers and fathers.

The Liberal Democrats argue that the Government are not spending enough on childcare and early years, particularly impacting disadvantaged children. The current system does not offer affordable choices for parents and undermines providers' viability. Wilson highlights statistics indicating the widening gap in educational attainment among young children from different socio-economic backgrounds. She notes that UK couples spend 29% of their wage on average for childcare, compared to lower percentages in countries like Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, and Japan. Over 10,000 childcare providers closed last year, affecting disadvantaged areas disproportionately. Wilson emphasises the impact on women’s labour market participation and earnings, with mothers' full-time work rates dropping significantly after having a child. She also highlights single parents’ struggles to afford childcare costs, impacting their ability to stay in employment or use savings for support until children start school. Wilson argues that current free hours entitlement is not sufficient, leading to top-ups by families who can afford it, while others cannot pay the extra cost. The Government’s tax-free childcare offer has a low take-up rate and should be better publicised. Wilson calls for increased funding for early years provision, urging the Treasury to address this issue as part of essential economic infrastructure.

It is an honour to be able to address this Chamber on International Women’s Day. It is a great opportunity for all of us to reflect on the successes of the past 100 years in removing barriers that women have faced, addressing inequality and removing discrimination. But it is also a time to reflect on what more needs to be done and so it is a logical day on which to be discussing childcare provision. Like everyone else, I would make the case that investment in childcare and early years education is an incredibly good way to tackle issues such as educational underachievement, worklessness, family breakdown, crime, antisocial behaviour, drug abuse, substance abuse and mental health problems. The Prime Minister has rightly described education as 'the closest thing we have to a silver bullet.' I think early years education is the most extreme example of that, because if we give people the right early years environment and the best early years teaching and support, we can make that an engine of social mobility and give them a chance to succeed. The Minister at the Department for Education should be congratulated on finding an extra £10 million of funding for maintained nursery schools which have struggled with reduced budgets in recent years. There is much to be proud of in the Government’s record on early years education, but there are still some serious problems to address including high childcare costs compared with other countries and complexity in entitlements that many people do not understand. The cost of childcare must be addressed as it keeps women out of the workplace and shortens their working hours which contributes to skills shortages such as those in the NHS. Investing in early years educators is crucial for ensuring quality care, and we need to look at regulatory flexibility to help with affordability. Out-of-hours care and activities are also important but often overlooked.

It is an honour to be speaking in this debate on International Women’s Day. I thank the hon. Member for Worcester for calling for this debate and for his earlier speech. The stress of childcare costs causes anxiety for parents, and it compounds the cost of living crisis by pricing families out of parenting and affecting women disproportionately. A constituent's story highlights the impossibility of having another child due to high childcare costs, which can be over £26,000 per year. The Conservative Government’s record includes underfunding early education and childcare, leading to closures of providers and astronomical costs being passed on to parents. Labour will deliver breakfast clubs in every primary school in England and allow councils to open more maintained nurseries as a first step towards good early years support.

The Member emphasises the importance of childcare support and reform, highlighting it as an economic, health, and mental health issue affecting workforce participation. She discusses her previous campaigning efforts and acknowledges investment by the current government but suggests that changes are needed in how funds are allocated. She supports reforms such as childcare credits for parental choice, front-loading child benefit, a single parental leave scheme, expanding family hubs, prioritising childminders and agencies, addressing inequities in business rates between private and state settings, focusing on training and education of the early years workforce, and avoiding changes to ratios that could harm safety or affordability. She urges for solutions that are not just about money but also regulation, quality, and parental choice.

The early years are crucial for intellectual, social and physical development due to the rapid brain development in infants. Conservative Governments' austerity programme has led to the closure of many Sure Start centres and facilities for young children since 2010, impacting childcare provision. The funding per child is £2 an hour less than needed, with total funding for free entitlement expected to be 8% lower in real terms by 2024-25, contributing to institutionalised child neglect. In Jon Trickett's constituency, child poverty has risen significantly and early years attainment is among the lowest in England, impacting social mobility. The Little Gruffalos centre in Hemsworth faces closure due to financial difficulties despite serving disadvantaged families exclusively.

The speaker discusses the historical context of Sure Start programme implementation, underspend in the early years block, and the importance of quality metrics. He also highlights the necessity for government to utilise research and evidence to make informed decisions on spending and policy implementation.

Ms Firth agrees with Mr Simmonds about progress made in early care provision but expresses concern over the limited increase of £52 million (1.4%) in early years funding proposed for the current estimates.

Mr Malthouse suggests that strict ratio guidelines inject inflexibility into the system, causing providers to under-pitch on ratios out of fear of penalties or sanctions. He argues for a more flexible approach.

I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Worcester for securing this important debate. The debate is timely as it falls on International Women's Day, highlighting new data showing that two-thirds of women with childcare responsibilities feel held back at work due to high costs. This situation underscores 13 years of Conservative government policies. The Department for Education has a crucial role in supporting children's early years through childcare and social care but is currently struggling under the current funding model. I highlighted issues such as nurseries like Georgie Porgies Pre-School facing closure, reflecting broader national struggles. The debate also covered the high costs of childcare, barriers to accessing support for low-income families, complexities in universal credit and tax-free childcare systems, and the impact on child poverty rates under current government policies. Additionally, I emphasised that so-called free hours do not cover actual costs faced by nurseries, leading to many closures. Labour aims to introduce fully funded breakfast clubs as a first step towards reforming the UK's broken childcare system.

Thanked hon. Members for their contributions, highlighted the importance of early identification and high-quality childcare, praised colleagues' work on family hubs, childminders, tax-free childcare, and the dedication to supporting parents in challenging circumstances. She provided details on funding increases and the impact on eligible children.

Acknowledged the contributions made by colleagues, highlighted the need for further investment in childcare to support working parents and improve access. He noted the real-term increases in funding over the last decade but pointed out current cost pressures facing the sector.

Quoted from the IFS about current cost pressures in the childcare sector, highlighting that it is not seeing real-terms increases despite funding growth over the last decade. He pointed out the need for further action to support providers facing economic challenges.