Government-backed loans for childcare are no solution to a crisis

theguardian.com:

As Justine Roberts says, there is a crisis in the affordability and availability of good quality childcare in the UK (I asked Boris Johnson about the childcare crisis. His response? ‘More Tumble Tots’, 14 June). But her suggestion that a system of government-backed childcare loans would solve the financial dilemmas they face would be laughable if it were not so serious, especially after the lessons which should have been learned about the student loans system.

Loans for childcare will not solve this problem for parents, many of whom struggle to provide their children with adequate food, clothing, shoes and heating when they are at home.

But this misses the main point, which is that all children are entitled to at least the basics of a decent life as they grow up. We all know and understand the research which shows that children’s physical, emotional, social and educational needs must be met for them to have a good chance of positive, healthy outcomes later in life. It is not rocket science, we know it’s true.

Good quality, free childcare available to all should be the ultimate aim. In the meantime childcare, properly subsidised through the tax system, should be introduced. Costs could be topped up by payments from parents who work full-time and have sufficient earnings. If it can work in other countries such as Finland, why can’t we make it work here? It is not a luxury or a choice, it is an urgent necessity for our children, our society and all our futures. Deborah Kaplinsky London

Laura Bates is absolutely right to point out the extraordinary difficulty that many women face when childcare costs rise, and their pay does not (Childcare costs are forcing women in Britain out of work. It needn’t be this way, 15 June).

However,