Childcare costs are the reason why many parents don’t return to work

theguardian.com:

While acknowledging that the costs and lack of childcare provision are two major reasons why parents don’t return to work (A sick child means a £700 hole in our budget: that’s the reality of life as a working parent, 8 March), a third is rarely mentioned – the difficulties when parents of young children must leave for work before their children’s schools or nurseries open, or they have a late, overnight or early shift. Before Brexit, provided they had a spare bedroom, such families could employ an au pair.

In exchange for a room in London, full board and lodging, free internet use, free use of laundry machines, all work-related expenses, free weekends and £120 a week, our family’s au pairs undertook 25 hours’ negotiated light work each week. They managed the school and nursery runs and were available on inset days, enabling parents to attend meetings, parents’ evenings and so on before and after school, knowing the children were safe.

For shift workers such as doctors, nurses, transport workers and so on, there was always a responsible adult in the house in their absence. Our au pairs also taught the children their language and became such close friends that two are godparents and holiday visits to them all are the norm.

The government stopped that. No two-year visas unless studying for so many hours that au pairing is impossible. European au pairs feel too unwelcome here now. Exactly who has benefited from this insane, ideologically driven prevention? Not children, not working adults, not the economy. So: who?Anne JohnsDerby

A Guardian editorial on (1 March) criticised Labour for its nebulous growth mission while saying little about “the far superior goals of maximising wellbeing and reducing inequalities”. It is very sad