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We are grappling with childcare-ratio plan - Nick Clegg Childcare ratio plans 'in chaos', says Labour
(about 1 hour later)
The deputy prime minister has raised concerns about plans to allow nursery staff to look after more children. Plans to allow childminders and nursery staff to look after more children in England are in "chaos", Labour says.
Nick Clegg told LBC radio there were questions about whether it would mean lower costs for parents and concerns about increased numbers. It follows Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg admitting he had doubts about whether it would cut costs for parents, and also concerns about child safety.
He and the prime minister had been discussing the plans for weeks because "we have to get this right", he added. Labour's Stephen Twigg asked an urgent Commons question on plans he said faced "overwhelming opposition".
Plans would allow staff in England to look after four babies instead of three and six two-year-olds, up from four. Education minister Elizabeth Truss told MPs the current system was not working and was unaffordable for many people.
Responding to Labour's urgent Commons question, Ms Truss said the government was now considering responses to its consultation on the plans and would make further announcements "in due course".
She said no nursery or childminder would be forced to look after more children, and the government was giving them the chance to exercise more professional responsibility.
"The current system of childcare is not working for parents, too many parents in the UK are struggling to juggle their work and childcare arrangements."
'Ignore Lib Dems'
Ms Truss said the government spent £5bn on childcare and needed to get "better value for money for the investment the government puts in".
"At present, we have the tightest ratios in Europe for children under three and we also have the lowest staff salaries," she said.
She argued that without reform, "we are going to find that it becomes prohibitive for many parents to afford childcare and be able to go out to work".
"These policies are alive and well in France, Ireland, in Holland and in Germany. There is not a single country, including Scotland, where ratios are as low as they are in England."
The plans would allow nursery staff to look after four babies instead of three and six two-year-olds, instead of the current limit of four.
Home-based childminders would be allowed to look after two babies under one, instead of one as currently, and four one-to-five-year-olds, up from three.
Coalition rift
But carers' qualifications would have to meet new standards.But carers' qualifications would have to meet new standards.
'In chaos'
The plans were due to be implemented in September but have been met with opposition from some parents' groups and charities.The plans were due to be implemented in September but have been met with opposition from some parents' groups and charities.
Labour is calling for a debate later on a policy it says is now "in chaos". A government statement is expected shortly in the Commons. BBC News Channel chief political correspondent Norman Smith said there appeared to be a rift between Lib Dem Mr Clegg and Conservative Education Minister Elizabeth Truss over the issue and it was difficult to see how the policy could proceed, unless David Cameron threw his weight behind it.
Statutory ratios for carers per child vary depending on age and setting. Those for children aged one-and-under are set to rise from three children per adult to four children per adult. Those for two-year-olds are set to rise from four to six children per adult.
Ratios for three-year-olds and over would remain at eight or 13 children per adult, depending on whether a qualified graduate was present.
Education Minister Liz Truss has championed the reforms, saying they will bring Britain into line with other European countries, including France and Sweden.
Britain has some of the highest childcare costs in the world, and Ms Truss says allowing carers to look after more children - providing they have higher qualifications - would lower costs and improve quality.
But in one survey, conducted by the National Children's Bureau, out of 341 early-years staff interviewed, 95% said they were concerned about the policy, and a campaign group against the changes has formed called Rewind on Ratios, run by the Pre-school Learning Alliance and supported by - among others - the online forums Mumsnet and Netmums.
Mr Clegg told LBC similar changes for three- and four-year-olds under the previous Labour government had had "almost no effect" on childcare costs for parents.Mr Clegg told LBC similar changes for three- and four-year-olds under the previous Labour government had had "almost no effect" on childcare costs for parents.
He said the government was "grappling" with the issue and had to "get the balance right".He said the government was "grappling" with the issue and had to "get the balance right".
"We've been talking about this for weeks and weeks," he said."We've been talking about this for weeks and weeks," he said.
"I'm absolutely passionate that we should do more as a country to make sure childcare is better quality but also more affordable.""I'm absolutely passionate that we should do more as a country to make sure childcare is better quality but also more affordable."
Plans to give families a £1,200 tax break for childcare would go ahead, Mr Clegg added. Speaking in the House of Commons, shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg said the split was "another example of chaos and incompetence at the heart of government, particularly in the Department of Education".
He said the scale of opposition to the plans had been "overwhelming" and told the BBC: "Nobody wants this, parents don't want this, the experts don't want this, the government's own adviser on childcare, Cathy Nutbrown, has said this isn't a good idea."
Conservative backbencher Peter Bone told MPs Mr Clegg should make his remarks in the Commons, not on the radio, and the government should "press on and ignore the Liberal Democrats" over the policy.