§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Minister for Women what assessment she has made of access to child care for women. [97716]
§ Ms HewittVarious assessments have been made of access to child care for women. Access to child care was fully explored in the Repeat Study of Parents' Demand for Childcare, focusing on working mothers and non-working mothers (including single mothers). Aspects of access to child care investigated included the role of child care, child care arrangements and difficulties with child care. The issue of access to child care for parents, including mothers was investigated in the 'Fifth Survey of Parents of Three and Four Year Old Children and Their Use of Early Years Services'. The survey included the amount of information available to guide their choices, the quality of education provided by their main provider and the quality of nursery education and child care provided by local providers.
My Department has also included questions on child care in this year's Work-Life Balance surveys of employers and employees. We expect to have the findings this summer. The Women and Equality Unit have also commissioned research into women's decision-making about child care, in relation to participation in the labour market, involving minority ethnic women in particular. The findings of this research will also be available in the summer.