Mersey MPs fight for childcare voucher scheme

Nov 10 2009 Liverpool Daily Post

MP John Pugh _300

MERSEY MPs have urged Gordon Brown not to axe childcare tax breaks worth up to £2,400 a year – warning the move will punish women and force many out of work.

They have protested at shock government plans to abolish childcare vouchers, which allow working parents to avoid tax and national insurance on payments to nurseries, nannies or childminders.

Around 350,000 people across Britain use the vouchers – introduced in 2005 – many of whom, it is argued, could not afford to work without them.

Last month, without warning, the prime minister announced that Labour would phase out the vouchers from 2011, although he insisted existing users would be protected.

Mr Brown said the money saved was better spent on free nursery places for two-year-olds from the poorest families, arguing the vouchers were “poorly-targeted” – with some even used to pay for horse-riding lessons.

More than 60,000 people, mostly women, have signed a petition on the Downing Street website attacking the decision, warning that Britain already “lags behind the rest of Europe” on childcare.

Now John Pugh (Southport), Eddie O’Hara (Knowsley South) and Bob Wareing (West Derby) are among 63 MPs who have signed a parliamentary motion calling for a rethink.

Mr Pugh said: “As a father of four, I’ve a lot of sympathy with the extra burden that having children imposes – especially during a recession – and these vouchers certainly make a difference.

“It’s not the hard-pressed parents with young families who are best-equipped to help us cut the budget deficit.”