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A leaked draft of Labour’s manifesto for the upcoming general election has promised an “overhaul” of the current childcare system.

 

The draft proposes to introduce a National Education Service that is “cradle-to-grave” and pledges to maintain existing free entitlement offers, extend the 30-hour offer to all two-year-olds, and introduce “some childcare” for one-year-olds.

 

It also pledges to make “significant” capital investment over two years to ensure that enough places exist, and to offer subsidised provision on top of free hour entitlements.

 

The document also expresses a desire to transition to a qualified, graduate-led workforce in the early years by increasing staff wages and enhancing training opportunities, arguing that “this will benefit staff, who are among our worst-paid workers and improve child-development".

 

The manifesto says: “Under the conservatives, the free hours entitlement is chronically underfunded, with provision patchy and hard to navigate. Many providers now simply refuse to participate in the scheme. The result is that many parents aren’t even getting the hours they’re entitled to.”

 

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, commented: “We know that affordable childcare is a high priority for parents and so it’s unsurprising that Labour’s draft manifesto contains some big promises in this area.” However, he added that such proposals were likely to be “incredibly costly", saying: “it’s clear that substantial investment into the sector would be needed to make these proposals work in reality.”

 

He added: “It is, of course, important to remember that this is a leaked, draft document and so the final manifesto may well look different. We hope that Labour – and all other political parties – engage fully with those working in the early years to ensure that any promises they make are in fact workable and deliverable in practice.”