Childcare has enjoyed a higher profile in this parliament than it has for nearly a decade. As politicians jockeyed to recapture the female vote, childcare became the 'go to' policy. But the focus of the debate shifted as the downturn dragged on from one balanced equally between child development and mothers' employment to one more squarely centred on easing the cost of living crisis. With that, the affordability of childcare came to dominate and the quality of childcare was too easily forgotten.
In spending terms also, childcare has been an undoubted winner. At a time of austerity, close to £1.5bn of extra investment has been found. Some of this is welcome - the extension of the two-year-old offer and additional support for childcare in Universal Credit. The biggest ticket item, however - tax-free childcare - is harder to celebrate. At a time of spending restraint, it provides support to some of the most affluent, further complicates childcare funding and provides no means by which Government can hold providers to account.
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