Parents want budget to offer choice to stay at home

Ellie works two part-time jobs and says any increase in the cost of living from the budget would be a "challenge"

A single parent said she hoped the Budget would include measures that reduced the pressure for mothers to return to work after having a child.

Ellie, who did not wish to give her surname, said she works two part-time jobs and hoped the government would give more support to parents who want to stay at home with their children.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver the government's second budget on 26 November.

Speaking to the BBC at the Joy Connection Cafe in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, the 32-year-old added any increase to the cost of living would be "difficult " to manage.

"As a single parent, it would create a lot more stress and challenge.

"The limited time I have to work in a day, I do what I can to provide for my child.

"It already feels like times are just so tough right now and even the minimum wage is barely enough for people," she said.

Nicki Bragg-Hart is the co-owner of Joy Connection Cafe in Bury St Edmunds

At the Joy Connection Cafe parents can gather for free with their young children, as well as take part in paid activity sessions.

Nicki Bragg-Hart, 39, the cafe's co-founder, said she wanted the government "to support at least one constant parent at home for childcare".

"There needs to be that constant, especially [during] the first five years, if we want to create a good, kind generation," she said.

She also added that she hoped the government would "shift their focus [away] from making money out of parents going back to work".

Carolyn says she wanted to see more support for parents with risings costs, especially if they want to stay home to look after their children

Mrs Bragg-Hart added that for some parents going back to work was "a beautiful thing" if it felt good for them.

She said that for others who wish to stay with their children longer, "I think it's inevitable at the moment that they have to go back to work".

Carolyn who did not wish to give her surname, said she now earns minimum wage after deciding not to return to a higher paid job in London, so she can look after her two-year-old.

The 37-year-old said she needed to work but wanted to see more financial support for parents in the budget, so they "can step into the roles they wish to do with their children" without the added pressure of "rising costs".

The parents met to socialise at the Joy Connection Cafe in Bury St Edmunds

Anna, who did not wish to give her surname, a self-employed consultant and educator and mother-of-two, said: "I want to be as present as I possibly can for my children and so with talk about increases in taxes that makes things a lot harder for me.

"I don't have the benefits that people who are employed have [which] does then put a huge amount of pressure on myself and my family - and the money that we do earn doesn't go as far."

Julian Case, an ambassador for the campaign group Mothers at Home Matter in Bury St Edmunds, said: "For decades so-called family-friendly policies have prioritised GDP growth and pushing mothers into the workforce over children's wellbeing and family life."

Mr Case said help could include having transferable tax allowances between parents, updating the child benefit system and instead of the government providing free childcare give direct payments to parents to allow them to create a family budget.

A government spokesperson said: "This government has put a renewed focus on the early years and through our Plan for Change, we will get tens of thousands more children – a record share – school-ready, meeting key developmental targets.

"More widely, we are cutting costs for parents by introducing free breakfast clubs, expanding free school meals, capping school uniform costs, expanding government funded childcare, and increasing the national minimum wage."