§ 1. Caroline Flint (Don Valley)If he will make a statement on his Department's role in relation to the cross-cutting review of the national child care strategy. [49343]
§ The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mrs. Barbara Roche)I am a member of the interdepartmental review of child care, which is developing a 10-year strategy for quality, affordable and accessible child care. My noble Friend Baroness Ashton is leading the review, and it is being managed by the performance and innovation unit.
§ Caroline FlintI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. I was pleased last week to lead the applause from these Benches for the child care measures in the Budget, especially the provision for those who need child care in their home, such as shift workers, to have access to our very generous child care tax credits. However, given that the review looks ahead 10 years, we need to see where to plug the gaps and better direct the mechanism's delivery on the ground. Will there be a debate in the House on the findings of the cross-cutting review, will there be a report and when will it be published?
§ Mrs. RocheWe certainly hope that Parliament will have the opportunity to discuss the conclusions of the review when it considers the 2002 spending review. I know of my hon. Friend's work and expertise in this field; she is right that we need to look at the gaps. Affordable high quality child care is extremely important for children and for working parents, particularly women, and we want to encourage women's progression in the labour market. My hon. Friend is also right to refer to the Chancellor's Budget and the welcome that it has received. 316 The tax credits in particular will provide an additional £2.7 billion to support families with children and low-income households.