I   WORK DEPRIVATION

1   Availability of Childcare

Suffolk Early Years Devleopment and Childcare Partnership represents organisations involved with childcare, early education, employment and training in the county. The Partnership is working with Suffolk County Council to make sure that parents and children in Suffolk can have affordable, accessible, high quality childcare and early education.

The Partnership are currently working on a major childcare audit due Spring 2002, contact Mark Parker, email: mark.parker@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk.

Childcare as a Gateway to Employment and Training

In line with the National Childcare Strategy, Suffolk Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership works to promote good quality childcare that is more accessible and which parents can afford. Research and consultation has shown that lack of childcare is a common barrier to employment or training, particularly for women and parents on low incomes.

The level of supply of childcare across the county is very variable, sufficient to meet demand in some areas and insufficient in others. The Suffolk Childcare Audit (2000) revealed how many parents tend to rely on informal arrangements such as care by relatives or friends to manage their childcare problems during school holidays. Many also appear to use annual leave in order to stay home and care for children.

Disadvantaged areas in Suffolk have typically less than half the rate of childcare places compared to the average across the county. Most rural areas also have an insufficient supply of childcare. Working patterns are changing but only about 5% of childcare places are available evenings or weekends. Some childcare is adapting to match, for example, 2 full day nurseries now offer overnight care.

Improving Access to Childcare

In Suffolk there are currently over 1,300 services registered to provide childcare offering over 7,000 childcare places. This equates to a childcare place available to one child in fifteen.

Existing childcare services comprise:

• 859 childminders

• 83 full day nurseries

• 18 pre-schools offering childcare integrated with nursery education

• 64 holiday childcare schemes

• 73 after- or before-school childcare schemes

Some services provide more than one type of childcare in the same setting.

A ‘Neighbourhood Childcare Initiative’ is set to redress this situation with a £2.3 million project aiming by March 2004 to:

• develop a childcare place in the most disadvantaged area for every lone parent entering employment

• close the childcare gap between disadvantaged areas and others.

(Suffolk Early Years Development and Childcare Strategic Plan 2001-2004)

In the rest of the county there are plans and financial resources to help with the start up costs of around 7,000 childcare places by March 2004. Allowing for turnover of businesses, this will result in a net increase of around 5,000 places. This will equate to a childcare place available for one child in nine.

Research has shown that poor information is also a barrier to accessing childcare. Suffolk County Council now operates a Childcare Information Service which has a parent helpline and website at www.suffolkcc.gov.uk/childcare/. Over 10,000 enquiries a year are satisfied through this service.

Improving the Affordability of Childcare

Currently childcare for ten hours a day, five days a week averages £100 per week for a child under five years with a childminder or day nursery. Childcare for school children in an after school club averages £28 per week (5 afternoons) and holiday club £75 per week (10 hours a day, 5 days per week).

Parents on low and middle incomes can get help with childcare costs if they receive Working Families Tax Credit. In Suffolk around 11,000 parents claim Working Families Tax Credit, but only 1,000 claim the element to help with the cost of childcare. An estimated 3,000 - 4,000 parents should benefit but do not claim.

Currently all four year olds are able to benefit from over 12 hours of free early education per week during school term times, including children using childcare services. This entitlement is being provided for increasing numbers of three year olds.

Neighbourhood Childcare Initiative areas where extra resources will be targeted to equalise childcare services with the rest of Suffolk:

• North West Ipswich (Whitton ward)

• South East Ipswich (Gainsborough, Priory Heath wards)

• South West Ipswich (Chantry, Stoke Park, Bridge wards)

• Central Ipswich (Town ward)

• North Lowestoft (Harbour, St Margarets, Normanston wards)

• South Lowestoft (Kirkley, Whitton wards)

• Haverhill (Clements ward)

Projected Development 2001-2004

1.1   Projection of childcare targets to 2004

Graph and Table 1.1 show the expected levels of growth in childcare places available. The figures show the number of new places to be created each year.

Assumptions:

• The Partnership wishes to bid for full NOF allocation and Childminder Start-up Grant allocation.

• The Partnership aims for a flat number of out-of-school group places developed over each of the 3 years of the Strategic Plan (see chart).

• Specific places with childminders depends on level of Childminder Start-up Grant. DfES have not produced an allocation for Suffolk so an assumption has been made that national funding indicated in DfEE Table 3 (see DfEE Planning Guidance 2001-2002) will apply to number of places.

• Childminding places split 50:50 pre-school and out–of-school, per current average.

• Neighbourhood Nursery places split 50:50 between pre-school and out-of-school places, assuming half the places are used for 3 and 4 year olds.

2   Employment

(See also D – Economic Deprivation)

Listed are the unemployment rates by ward, but only for those wards above the Suffolk average of 2.3% (as at Sept 2001).

2.1   Analysis of Unemployment in Suffolk (by Ward)

Source: National Statistics Sept 2001. * Age 16 to Retirement Age, count from the 1991 Census. Source: ONS – First Release (Aug 1999). Benefits Agency administrative system. N.B. Claimant count measure (ILO measures are not available at local level).

Percentage Unemployed in September 2001

Source: Office for National Statistics
Click map for larger image.

© Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Suffolk County Council Licence No. LA076864 2000

2.2   Unemployment by District, September 2001

Source: National Statistics, 2001 (via NOMIS)

2.4   Live Labour Market Units - Suffolk Jobcentres

Source: Suffolk Employment Service. Sept 2001

Live labour market units are defined as a claimant registered for jobseekers allowance who is actively seeking employment.

Full and Part-time Employment

2.5   Breakdown of Workforce by Employment Status

Source: Suffolk Economic & Labour Market Assessment 1998/1999. Suffolk TEC.

Almost nine in ten of the workforce are working (full-time, part-time and self-employed). Over 90% of males and 80% of females are in paid employment. 22% of all employment is part-time, and women account for over 90% of all part-time employees. These figures are very similar to previous findings, but do indicate a gradual shift towards more part-time working, and more specifically more men working part-time, a pattern that has been forecast for several years.

The larger the firm the more likely an employee will be employed full-time rather than part-time.

• Small firms (1-24 employees) = 70% full-time; 30% part-time

• Medium firms (25-199 employees) = 76% full-time; 24% part-time

• Large firms (200+ employees) = 80% full-time; 20% part-time

3   Measures of Worklessness

(For information on Means Tested Benefits see Section D – Economic Deprivation.)

3.1   Claimant Unemployment by Age Group for Suffolk

Source: ONS – First Release (Sept 2001). Benefits Agency administrative system.

*The ‘1 year+’ column includes all claimants unemployed for more than one year, including those of 2 years+, hence the total is for less than 6 months, 6 months - 1, and 1 year +. Consider 2 years + as a subset of 1 year +.

See Section D – Economic Deprivation for further information on employment, wages and other economic indicators.

CONTACTS - WORK DEPRIVATION