Mattie McGrath urges wage subsidy for childcare owner-managers
Mattie McGrath raised concerns about owner-managers of childcare facilities who have been placed on COVID-19 pandemic unemployment payments while their staff receive the wage subsidy childcare scheme. He urged the Minister to extend wage supports to these managers, broaden the sustainability fund, and use the crisis to review regulation and funding across the early childcare sector.
Wage subsidy for owner-managers
Mattie McGrath highlighted that many owner-managers remain on pandemic unemployment payments despite continuing to work, carry out administration and support staff. He asked the Minister to ensure this cohort is not left "fallen through the cracks" and to confirm whether they can claim unemployment benefit after mid-June for the summer months.
Financial losses and reopening risks
He warned of severe revenue losses in services, with many reporting losses of over £600 per week, and questioned whether some services can realistically reopen. He also noted steep rises in insurance costs and instances where providers could not obtain insurance, increasing risks to sector viability.
Sustainability fund and sector eligibility
McGrath pointed out that the sustainability fund is currently only available to COVID or not-for-profit services and called for the fund to be extended to include all services. He argued that a level playing field is needed to improve the chances of reopening by September and to avoid unfair discrimination between providers.
Regulation, funding and a sector review
He described the pandemic as an opportunity for a root-and-branch review of childcare, criticizing excessive regulation and the lack of a proper sustainable funding stream. He welcomed proposals for new models and urged reinvestment in existing services and recognition of the onerous duties carried by voluntary boards.
Support for families and request for reply
McGrath stressed that home carers, including parents and grandparents, should not be discriminated against and that family care is a valuable setting for children. He paid tribute to staff, public, private and voluntary providers, wished the Minister well after her electoral loss, and asked for written replies to the questions raised.
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I welcome the fact that the Minister has come in, albeit the fact that she has lost her seat in the election and I wish her well in her future. There are serious concerns amongst self-implied owner managers of childcare facilities who have been forced onto the COVID-19 pandemic unemployment payments. While all their staff are receiving the wage subsidy childcare scheme aimed at retention of staff, and this is good. These owner managers are still working with payants, supporting the staff and are carrying out huge levels of administration duties and are being left on unemployment. Will the government look at this cohort of managers, a very important cohort, who appear to have fallen through the cracks, Minister, and ensure that they too are put to the wage subsidy scheme? And what happens after June, you know, in mid-June, can they claim unemployment benefit for the summer months also? These people are vital. Many of them are owners and managers and put the seeds for those questions and built them up and work alongside their staff. And a very good staff. And we don't want to have the staff and them and them and us. No, we don't. It's a team, a very important team that grows around the love of caring for the children. There is a huge concern about the capacity issues within the early childcare sector over after COVID-19. While the wage subsidy childcare scheme is welcome for the retention and support of staffs, there are huge concerns about the large loss of revenue that some services are facing, with many services reporting losses of over £600 per week. It is a huge concern about whether or not these services will be able to reopen. They cannot sustain those kinds of losses. As it was, they were struggling. As it was, they had huge, huge rises, quadrupling in rises of insurance, and some couldn't even get insurance, so we need to address that. At present, the sustainability fund is only available to COVID or not-for-profit services. Can this fund be extended to include all services to improve the chances of reopening September? It's very unfair. It's not a level playing field. They should be all. Lastly, on the wider childcare sector issues, considering that all childcare facilities currently close with staff paid directly via the wage subsidy childcare scheme, and top up from the Department of Children, this is an opportunity, Minister, I feel, to examine, to regenerate and reinvest in our childcare sector. It's ironic to think that it takes a pandemic like this to force a real root-and-branch review of what is going on in the childcare sector. That's huge. And I salute all the workers, and I salute the public and private providers. Indeed, I was a founder member and a board member still of Nina and Karsla and Niwa to the media providers, and I know the work they do, but I also know the work the huge onerous duties that fall on the voluntary board members, and it's getting more onerous with regulations, and Deborah Dinole mentioned about two slagas, certainly, and there's need for that as well. But we are literally over-regulated in many areas, and there's no proper sustainable funding stream going forward. It's like, you know, live hospital, you get grass, and you're waiting and waiting and waiting, and there's huge pressures too, in rural areas, and in all areas, but in rural areas as well. And we've been coming from 60 miles away to our question. And it's a wonderful question. There are puttages that knock me down in Newcastle, and I want to pay tribute to the voluntary boards, as I said, there, and the staff and management. So, Minister, I noticed that there's a new model being proposed out there, and your programme, you know, 2020-25 was outlined even before the election. The new models, we must reinvest in what we have, and look at the nominees that are there, and try and close them. And it's very important that they would. And I also want, Minister, and lip service has been painted over the years. It's been totally unfair and discriminated against the carers in the home, whether they be a mother or a father or whoever, and the grandparents, the huge effort that they put in and support, and the wider family. But where one person says at home to mind their children, they must not be discriminated against. We have discriminated against families in many areas across you, the Papal Minister, and I have raised this with you before, and it's not acceptable that we must, that it's not, you know, that we're making it not desirable for parents to stay at home. There's no better place for the child to learn than the home, and that's been proven by studies all over the world. So, Minister, I think this is a timely chance. Many blessings, I think, will come out of this sad pandemic as well. And, you know, people, we must insist that governments and family and departments and officials have due regard for the family as the most, the best place to raise the children, and not have it discriminated against, as we have had done by many of the schemes in the past, Minister. And I've had that debate across this floor, but nothing changed. So, after the call of the Caelan, we support the primary, the parents in the first instance, and indeed the local and voluntary questions, and the public ones as well. So, please, I'd appreciate those answers. You don't have time here to see them, but I'd be pleased to get written reply to those questions. And I think it's very important that we do. . Thank you very much. Thank you. . . . . . . . . .
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