The misguided experiment of British childcare

Everybody agrees that childcare in Britain is an unholy mess. According to a new study, tens of thousands of parents are desperate for ‘radical change’. And yesterday, after a petition bemoaning childcare costs received 112,907 signatures, Labour’s Catherine McKinnell kicked off a Westminster Hall debate to address funding and affordability.

Her answer, inevitably, was more state spending — on nurseries, parents, even an independent review. But the awkward truth is that more state interference makes childcare more expensive.

We already pour £6 billion of taxpayer money into the sector each year, and the results are miserable. The quality is often poor, staff retention a perennial battle, and closures common. In the 11 months to June 2021, 370 child care providers closed. While female participation in the workforce is often cited as reason for government intervention (think gender pay gap reporting), there’s limited evidence that interventions we’ve made so far actually assist women back into work after maternity leave.