Jersey mother urges government to subsidise childcare costs

Jess Stanier said if the government subsidised childcare costs, more women could return to work

A woman has called on the Jersey government to subsidise childcare costs after a petition she set up was signed by more than 1,500 people.

Jess Stanier, who has a five-month old daughter, said she had "no idea" beforehand costs were more than £2,000 per month for full-time care.

Subsidies would enable more mothers to return to work, she said.

Deputy Louise Doublet said it was "clear" the childcare industry needed to be "looked at as a whole".

After having her daughter Wendy and looking into the costs of childcare, Ms Stanier was left thinking she could not afford to return to work.

'People have resigned'

She said: "I started having conversations with other mothers.

"I was hearing more and more people in exactly the same boat, people who have had to resign from their roles during maternity because of the cost of childcare, or because there wasn't flexibility to amend their role to part time.

"I have worked to build my career and I just can't believe that I'm at a point that I'm actually considering whether I need to leave this career in order to be able to look after my daughter.

"I don't understand why I don't have the choice to have both."

Ms Stanier said she felt "quite let down" mothers are facing this problem in "this day and age".

"[This is] especially because the majority of childcare responsibility usually does rest with the mother," she continued.

"I'm really hopeful that what will happen... [is] we will be told there is an amount of money that was going to be ring fenced in order to ensure that we can offer similar if not exactly what the UK is offering."

In March, the UK Government announced it would offer 30 hours free childcare by 2025.

Fiona Vacher, from the Jersey Child Care Trust, said the "biggest cost" for childcare providers was its staff.

She said: "It's absolutely crucial that children have their best start in life and they're cared for by the right people with the right qualifications and the right skills.

"That in turn is a professional workforce that needs paying, so we've got this very difficult situation where you need to be paying the workforce the money that it deserves, but equally at the moment the people who are paying that are the parents that are paying fees."

'Long-term work'

Ms Doublet, Assistant Minister for Children and Education, agreed it was an "important issue" that needed to be addressed.

She said: "Providing affordable, high-quality childcare for working parents is a complex system with lots of elements that need to be considered.

"This includes not just the cost to parents, but capacity within the system, building a skilled workforce to provide care, and the availability of different types of childcare that offer choices that meet different families' needs."

Ms Doublet said the government was taking short-term measures to help, but that it was "ultimately a long-term piece of work".

"I will continue to work with childcare providers, other experts, children and families towards achieving this vision, and I will respond fully to this petition within the timescales required," she said.

Ms Vacher said the government was being genuine in their attempts to help with childcare.

She said: "They are absolutely looking at this and their heart is in it. The right questions are being asked, and I know in November that they are planning round table discussions with us to really start looking at where we move with policy going forward."

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