The comments made by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, on 28 September 2020.
This incompetent Government is completely failing to deliver support working parents with childcare at a time when they need it most.
With around half of parents struggling to access childcare and the sector on the brink of collapse, it beggars belief that Ministers have repeatedly failed to get support to every family who needs it.
The comments made by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, on 25 September 2020.
Parents rely on childcare to be able to do their jobs. Those jobs and our economic recovery will be put at risk if one in ten nurseries and childminders are forced to close over winter, not to mention the impact on children who rely on early education.
Labour has been warning about childcare closures for months, yet Ministers have sat on their hands as the early years sector and workforce move ever closer to a cliff edge.
It is time for this incompetent Government to start listening and start targeting support at sectors like childcare which need it the most.
Comments made by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, on 5 August 2020.
Years of underfunding has left childcare professionals working long hours for very low pay. This is driving talented staff out of the sector and letting down the young children whose life chances are shaped by vital early education.
Labour has been calling for targeted support to save the thousands of nurseries and childminding business that are threatened with closure due to Covid-19. But we cannot go back to undervaluing the childcare workforce after this crisis – we must invest in them for the sake of the next generation.
The comments by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, on 28 July 2020.
The physical and mental health of many children with SEND has deteriorated in this pandemic, and we know that their families have felt abandoned.
The Government has failed to show the leadership needed to ensure SEND provision was not overlooked during this crisis. The sad result is that risk assessments have been few and far between and very few children with SEND have had their needs met.
There must now be a laser-like focus on ensuring that schools and local authorities can get every child back to school safely in September, with proper support for vulnerable children and those with SEND.
The text of the comments made by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, on 16 July 2020.
It was a pleasure to visit Bessborough Nursery and Pre-School and hear from parents about just how important childcare is to them, both for the development of their children and so that they can get back to work.
Nurseries are going to be crucial for our economic recovery, yet we did not hear a word from the Chancellor about childcare in his statement last week, despite a growing crisis that threatens the closure of a quarter of all providers. We’ve already lost 14,000 childcare providers in the last five years, and we simply cannot afford to lose any more.
Labour is arguing for targeted support for the childcare sector to prevent a wave of nursery closures, which would devastate working families and set back out economic recovery.
Below is the text of the comments made by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, on 6 July 2020.
Long-term Government underfunding left nurseries and childminding businesses on the brink of collapse even before this crisis hit, and thousands of providers now fear closure.
This call for an urgent review into funding for the childcare sector should spur the Government into action. It has been sleepwalking through this crisis and ignoring the warnings from parents and sector leaders.
Labour has been warning for months of the dire consequences that early years providers will face without a concrete plan for funding and support in place. The Government must now step in before it is too late.
Below is the text of the comments made by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, on 30 June 2020.
Children seem to have been an afterthought in the Government’s response to this pandemic. We knew that young people would be among the most vulnerable in lockdown, so their wellbeing should have been one of the top priorities from the start.
Labour and the children’s sector have warned for months about the need to prepare for an increase in demand for children’s social care and mental health services. Despite these warnings, it’s not clear that Ministers have a plan to protect those children who need it most.
The Government must start prioritising the wellbeing of children and make sure the services that support them are properly funded.
Below is the text of the comments made by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, on 23 June 2020.
This pandemic has taken a terrible toll on vulnerable children, who have been far more exposed to domestic abuse, online grooming, and other threats in recent months. The result is that many more children now need foster care and other support services, which have been cut to the bone in the last decade.
Labour has been warning for months that there will be a huge rise in demand for children’s services. The scale of this crisis is now starting to come to light, and it’s not clear how the Government plans to deal with it.
The Government must come forward with a proper plan to ensure that vulnerable children and those moving into the care system can access the support they need. Ministers must also scrap the unnecessary and dangerous regulations that have weakened safeguards for children entering foster care placements.