In the run-up to the 2005 election, the then Labour government published a 10-year childcare strategy. This was an ambitious document with two main aims: improving access to childcare to enable parents to work, and to improve outcomes for all children and narrow the gap between rich and poor children.

Despite a very different political and economic context this vision continues to shape policy today. And we have made some great strides towards the fulfilment of this vision.

Looking back over the last 10 years, both providers and governments can claim success in transforming childcare provision for the better. A great deal has been achieved from modest beginnings. Today, using formal childcare is the norm, rather than the exception. England has nearly doubled the number of childcare places in the last decade and there is political consensus of the advantages of childcare for both parents and children. The government has substantially increased its spending on childcare to about £6bn through tax credits and free early education offers. Parents today have the right to both parental leave and pay and can request flexible working.

But, we still have a long way to go.

Too many men are struggling to play an active part in their children’s lives as a result of poor paternity leave and pay. Too many women are dropping out of the labour market when they have children. Too many families struggle to make work pay and to balance work and caring commitments. Too many children still attend poor-quality childcare settings that will not help improve their outcomes or narrow the gap.

Despite the expansion of childcare places, many school-age children, disabled children, rural families and parents who work outside normal office hours struggle to find childcare. The 2006 Childcare Act requires local authorities to fill gaps in provision, but this is not happening. Nor is the government holding them to account. This is one of the most serious childcare policy failures.

And, even with very significant extra investment in childcare support over the last decade – through the early education offer, tax credits and employer vouchers – parents in England still pay the highest prices for childcare in Europe and spend more than a quarter of their income on childcare. And it is becoming ever more unaffordable. The funding system is too complex and does not provide the taxpayer with value for money. It does not serve the government, childcare providers, parents or children.

The government’s extra investment in childcare support through the tax-free childcare bill is welcome, but it is not the best use of public money. Previous increases in the financial support given directly to parents have led to rapid price rises in childcare costs as the extra money in the system has led to increased fees from childcare providers. So, the value of this extra help for parents could be eroded quickly and leave parents no better off.

We want to see an end to the sticking plaster, papering over the cracks approach to childcare. All political parties should now commit to a new childcare strategy and set up an independent review of childcare funding that delivers the affordable and accessible childcare that providers, parents and children deserve.

The Family and Childcare Trust has published a report, ‘Where next for childcare? Learning from the 2004 childcare strategy and 10 years of policy’. It examines moves by successive governments over the last 10 years to tackle childcare accessibility, affordability and quality. For more information please see here.

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Ellen Broome is director of policy at the Family and Childcare Trust. She tweets @EllenBroome