Tracey1

Answered by James Purnell

No question that childcare is as big an issue with you in Halifax as it is elsewhere in the country. We as government have to make sure that the right childcare is in place to let parents find work. One... Show more »No question that childcare is as big an issue with you in Halifax as it is elsewhere in the country. We as government have to make sure that the right childcare is in place to let parents find work. One of the key things we do is work with employers to try and find flexible working for parents, especially lone parents, so that they can balance going out to work with their childcare responsibilities. When we decided to lower the age of the youngest child at which someone claiming benefits would have to go to work, we had to take into consideration the impact this would have. After consulting with a number of parents’ groups we decided that it would be too big a leap to go straight from 16 to 8 which is why we have put in an interim stage of 12. Show less »