The CAP 09-11 phase was originally allocated £12m in August to run in ten boroughs (News, 12 August). It will now run in eight boroughs, which will receive up to £1m in funding.
The impact of the recession and a freeze on recruitment in some boroughs has meant that some local authorities decided they could not afford to pay staff to run the scheme.
A spokesperson from the London Development Agency said, ‘Since August, five of the initial boroughs have withdrawn their expression of interest for various reasons. These include a freeze on recruitment within their boroughs, other internal resourcing issues, decisions to take up other support programmes in their areas, and the potential impact of the current economic climate. The budget has been reduced by £3 million, reflecting the fewer number of boroughs and some additional identified cost savings. The amount of support being provided to each confirmed borough has not changed.’
More details of the scheme, which is managed by the London Development Agency, and the names of the London boroughs taking part were confirmed yesterday.
Lewisham, Enfield, Merton and Wandsworth have pulled out, but Harrow and Westminster will now take part in the pilots.
The names of the London boroughs taking part in the two-year programme of subsidised childcare and support for families earning less than £20,000 were revealed yesterday.
The subsidised offer will contribute to the cost of flexible, high-quality childcare for unemployed couples and lone parents in Brent, Ealing, Hackney, Southwark and Westminster, while parents in Barking & Dagenham, Islington, and Harrow (subject to approval by the council’s Cabinet) will be offered one-to-one guidance on training, employment and finding childcare.
The two pilots, which will run from December 2009 to December 2011, are expected to reach 1,600 low-income families.
They will test out different ways to help families where parents are unemployed or there is only one earner in the household, and lone parents who are out of work, where the household income is less than £20,000 a year.
Three out of five children living in poverty in London are in households where no-ne works.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said, ‘Childcare is expensive and for many families the high cost of London living is also a real struggle. It makes absolutely no economic sense to let the skills and enthusiasm of these parents go to waste simply because they can’t find affordable, quality childcare. This programme will provide a real lifeline for thousands of parents who want to go out to work and currently feel they can’t.’
Denise Burke, head of youth and childcare at the LDA, said, ‘This new programme will make childcare more affordable for those families that are most in need by providing the support unemployed parents need to get into jobs. Londoners pay, on average, 25 per cent more for childcare than parents living elsewhere in England. For someone on a low income this can be a huge barrier to finding a job, particularly for mothers wanting to return to or enter into employment.’