21.02.14
IPPR calls for childcare reforms to boost maternal employment
Supporting mothers into work would be worth £750m annually, a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows.
The IPPR calls for childcare reforms to help more mothers into employment, with new research highlighting the positive impacts of maternal employment; lower risk of child poverty, positive child development and parents health and wellbeing.
Increasing overall maternal employment by five percentage points would be worth around £750m annually in increased tax revenue and reduced benefit spending, the report suggests.
The UK should work towards more affordable childcare for mothers with children aged up to 2 for low-skilled and lone parents to help them enter or re-enter employment, as well as more affordable childcare to parents of three- and four-year-olds and families where mothers are already in work, in order to enable mothers to increase their working hours, and a system that is supply funded and more affordable for parents.
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