The government announced today that a £16.8m investment package would be used to help small and medium-sized businesses provide better childcare for their employees.
The Workplace Nurseries Capital initiative aims to help employers provide childcare that is closer to the workplace, and make it easier for parents to balance their work and home lives.The scheme will be delivered by Regional Development Agencies and led by the London Development Agency .
Children, young people and families minister Beverley Hughes said: “We need to talk to parents about their childcare needs, but we also need to engage their employers. We want to ask them to help assess the childcare needs of their staff and raise awareness of the importance of family friendly policies. I want to see local authorities working closely with business as well as voluntary and private providers to ensure a diverse range of high-quality care is available in every locality.”
Hughes said the London Development Agency would work in partnership with local authorities to identify where workplace nurseries would be of most value to families, communities and businesses.
“Most good employers want to help families balance work and family life. Some are already providing childcare to make this happen – we want to take this further,” she said.
