Richard Baum

The Liberal Democrat Spring Conference has backed plans to give all families 20 hours of free, high quality childcare as well as allowing fathers to take up to one year of paternity leave.

The proposals include: 

• Providing 20 hours of free, good quality childcare a week from 18 months to five years old
• Ensuring all childcare workers are qualified to a minimum level
• Improving the quality of childcare by expanding the role of children’s centres as training institutions
• Providing 19 months parental leave, shared between both parents making it easier for fathers to play a fuller role

I don’t have children myself, but hope to one day. I know from the experiences of friends and colleagues that making the most of parental leave is difficult because of childcare issues. If we want a soceity that’s fair and allows for both parents to take an active role in bringing up children from the very beginning, whilst letting people keep jobs and have access to quality childcare, we need reforms like these now.

Rick