News from The Labour Party

Tory top-up fees for Labour’s free nursery places is wrong

Responding to reports that the Conservatives are planning to charge parents for Labour’s currently free nursery places, Labour’s Schools Secretary Ed Balls said: “Free nursery places for three and four year olds, and now many two year olds, are something the Labour government can be rightly proud of.

“If the Conservatives are now proposing to introduce top-up fees for nurseries – even temporarily – we think that’s utterly wrong. Let me be clear – under Labour the free entitlement will remain free, with no top-up charges for toddlers, and will be increased to fifteen hours from September.

“Parents will already be deeply worried that the Conservatives are offering election tax bribes for some with one hand but taking away child tax credits from families on middle and modest incomes with the other.”

The Conservatives have made clear that the Department for Children, Schools and Families budget is a candidate for cuts – this includes the funding for the free nursery entitlement.

Speaking at a youth mobilisation event in London today, Labour’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “The newspapers have got hold of a secret policy memo of the Conservative party that reveals they will end Labour’s guarantee of free nursery places and allow nurseries to charge parents of 3 and 4 year olds millions of pounds in supplementary fees.

“Just think about that. Top up fees now for the under fives. The very reason we created Sure Start, the very reason we backed free nursery places, the very reason we have fought so hard to let hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty is because it is unfair for a child’s birth to be its destiny, unfair that the wealth of your parents should determine the end of your story, unfair that only some of the people can have some of the chance to realise some their potential, we believe that everyone should have all of the chance to realise all of their potential.”

Other news from The Labour Party

• Miliband tells Cameron: Save 6,000 nurses by abandoning NHS reorganisation now - 5 February 2012
• "We need what you might call 'one nation banking'" - 3 February 2012
• Burnham: "Mental health must move from the edges to the centre of the NHS" - 31 January 2012