Transcript THE LONDON CHILDCARE MARKET: POLICY CONTEXT

THE LONDON CHILDCARE MARKET:
POLICY CONTEXT
Eva Lloyd
Co-director ICMEC
Cass School of Education
University of East London
3 March 2011
London and childcare
• Considerable socio/economic and demographic
differences between and within Inner and Outer
London authorities
• Capital’s diverse population, speaking over 300
languages, requires flexible childcare system
• Many local markets make up the London childcare
market
• London is genuinely different
Eva Lloyd, ICMEC 3 March 2011
Key childcare policies 1997 - 2010
Childcare and early education market featuring:
• Supply side subsidy for free part-time early
education for 3 and 4 year olds
• Demand side subsidy for low income parents, the
Childcare element of the Working Tax Credit, towards
registered childcare
• Supply side support for Sure Start Children’s Centres
primarily in disadvantaged areas, some for out-ofschool
• Fiscal incentives for employer childcare support
Eva Lloyd, ICMEC 3 March 2011
Main London childcare market
characteristics
• Free part-time or full-time nursery education in most
inner and outer London boroughs also pre-1997
• Some supply-side support for childcare provision in
numerous London boroughs also pre-1997
• Possibly greater use of private nannies than in rest of
England, but no statistics available
• Considerable social stratification in provision and
uptake within ‘local childcare cultures’
Eva Lloyd, ICMEC 3 March 2011
London’s socio-economic challenges
• Child poverty rate 48% Inner London, 28% Outer
London (England 30% )
• Maternal employment rate 54% (England 65%)
• Lowest uptake of Working Tax Credit compared to
England as a whole
• Low qualification levels, high unemployment rate
and income inequalities disproportionally affecting
BME communities and lone parents
• High housing, living and transport costs
Eva Lloyd, ICMEC 3 March 2011
Additional challenges to maternal
employment
• High levels of lone parenthood, 20% of all lone
parents live in London
• Atypical working patterns for major employers e.g.
NHS and London Transport
• Less part-time working
• Low pay
• Relatively high gender pay gap
• Childcare costs 20 to 25% higher than in England
Eva Lloyd, ICMEC 3 March 2011
London specific childcare policies
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The 2003 London Childcare Strategy
Childcare Affordability Programme, CAP-05
Childcare Affordability Programme, CAP-09
London Child Poverty pilots
London and rest of England: Childcare tax subsidies
shrink under Coalition Government; support for early
education continues
Eva Lloyd, ICMEC 3 March 2011
Focus of LDA Childcare market report
• OFSTED registered childcare for children aged 0 to 5
in centres and with childminders
• OFSTED registered out-of-school provision and
childminding for children aged 5 -7
• Excluded: nursery education provided in schools;
informal childcare, which is still the most popular
form of childcare for children aged under 2; holiday
provision for children aged 5 and over; crèches and
private nannies
Eva Lloyd, ICMEC 3 March 2011
Sources
Lloyd, E. (2008) ‘The interface between childcare, family support
and child poverty strategies under new Labour: tensions and
contradictions,’ Social Policy & Society, 7(4), 479-494
Mayor & GLA Economics: Women in London’s Economy Series,
London: Greater London Authority
Mayor of London (2003) The London Childcare Strategy: towards
affordable good quality childcare for all. London: Greater
London Authority
Vincent, C. Brown, A. & Ball, S. (2008) ‘Childcare, choice and
social class,’ Critical Social Policy, 26(1), 5-26
Eva Lloyd, ICMEC 3 March 2011