CEY1553
Written evidence submitted by Little Village
Introduction
Thank you for the opportunity to submit evidence to this inquiry, which is timely and relevant given the current cost of living crisis and its impact on families. This submission is particularly focused on families with young children who are on low incomes and their ability to access both childcare and children’s centres.
About Little Village
Little Village supports families with babies and children under five living in poverty across London. We run a baby bank network, collecting, sorting and passing on pre-loved clothes and equipment.
Parents are also supported by our dedicated signposting and guidance team, who offer advice and links to other services. In addition, we work with families to share their stories and campaign to fix the systems that trap them in poverty.
We are based in London, with hubs in Camden, Wandsworth, Brent, Hackney and Hounslow.
Since we launched in 2016, Little Village has fulfilled more than 32,000 requests for support and provided more than £9.8m worth of baby equipment and clothes. In 2022, we supported 7,006 children across all London boroughs.
Our values of love, solidarity, thriving and sustainability underpin everything we do.
About baby banks
Over 200 baby banks operate in local communities across the UK supporting thousands of babies, children and their families with high quality re-used clothes, buggies, beds, toys and books.
They have a long-term role to play as community networks that can facilitate the reuse of baby kit and clothing as a positive contribution to the environment as well as building a more resilient support system for parents with young children. However, right now, they’re on the frontline of the cost-of-living crisis, supporting families in desperate need of essentials.
Background to this submission
The evidence in this submission is drawn from our own research and focus groups with families on low incomes, and is focused primarily on the affordability of childcare and the ability of families on low incomes to return to work.
The families Little Village supports are referred to us by one of our 2,300 referral partners, including midwives, health visitors, social workers and community groups. In 2022, 45% of referrals were single parents, 12% were dealing with domestic abuse, 35% were homeless or in temporary accommodation; 34% were on a low or uncertain wage, 22% had No Recourse to Public Funds, 11% were having difficulties with Universal Credit and 26% were refugees or seeking asylum.
The importance of children’s early years is well evidenced and the impact of poverty at this stage can be profound. What happens during the first few years of a child’s life sets the parameters for the rest of their childhood. Many of the families we have supported at Little Village report having had inadequate provision of key items such as a crib, toys, bottles, or suitable clothing. As well as physical impacts, the emotional impact of poverty on their parents affects children directly and indirectly.
Children living in poverty have lower educational outcomes. Even by the age of 3, research shows significant difference between cognitive development in children growing up in the poorest homes than those in the wealthiest. These differences widen further by the age of 5 and continue throughout school with less than a quarter of children on free school meals attaining 5 good GCSEs, compared to over half of their peers (not on free school meals).[1] These differences in the early years are attributed to differences in the home learning environment, parental engagement with children, and health and wellbeing of parents, which are all factors caused or heightened by the impact of living in poverty[2].
Access to high quality early years education and childcare is therefore even more critical to support children’s development and school readiness, however, it is too often out of the reach of the families we support.
Access to affordable childcare
Families consistently tell us that they want to work to increase their incomes to support their children, but this was impossible given the lack of affordable and accessible childcare available to them. They also felt that this led to employers discriminating against parents, one mother noted that it “[f]eels like you have to hide being a parent from an employer so they don’t discriminate when hiring you.”
Families are often living in circumstances out of their control, which limits their ability to put consistent arrangements in place. For example, when housed in temporary accommodation, this is often far away from existing connections including employers and wider families and other sources of support. One mother told us how she was moved from south to north London, which meant, she would have to travel up to 2 hours each way to drop off her child with a family member who could provide childcare while she worked. The high costs of travel and subsequent loss work-time mean that this is not financially viable. Unable to make work pay, this mother must rely on a small maternity payment: “I receive £626 a month and that is it. I have to buy nappies, electric every week… the money goes like that.” Another woman, reflecting on the very high costs of childcare, asked “How can I work with 3 kids?’
Unaffordable childcare is driving parents out of work and into debt. For parents with children who are yet to start school, childcare is a prerequisite to being able to partake in work or training. The absence of affordable childcare therefore becomes a significant barrier to parents moving forward and escaping poverty.
41% of the 1400 families on low incomes Little Village surveyed in 2021/22 were in work. For many families with young children, work does not pay due to the high cost of childcare. In the survey:
• 67% said that the cost of childcare stops them from being able to work or doing the job that they want to do
• 23% said that they had lost a job due to lack of suitable childcare
• 27% said that they had left a training or educational course due lack of suitable childcare.[3]
“I feel like the main [barrier to financial security] is the cost of childcare, finding suitable childcare because when you think about like the job and you think of how much you have to pay for childcare, it's not even worth it. Once you like take out, the rent, utilities and everything a big chunk goes to childcare, you're left with barely anything so it's really hard”
“I go to work for 15 hours, the childcare kind of cancels out the work that I’ve done[…] with Universal Credit, you have to have the money up front when you first sign your child up. Working at home at the time wasn’t in fashion. I had to go to work and I couldn’t afford to go to work[…] I felt so trapped really on Universal Credit”
“In order to go back to work you need to be able to pay for childcare, however for an average or low income this is impossible as any disposable income pays for this. It's an impossible situation as people who work pay for childcare and can't afford to live, people who don't work can't afford to live. It's a vicious cycle, my daughter is only nine months old and I have constant anxiety about how I can afford to live with my maternity pay coming to an end. My partner has mental health issues so his income is erratic but this means we cannot claim universal credit and are completely stuck”
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It is also important to recognise the precarity of family situations; there is no financial safety net and one setback can have multiple impacts in other areas:
“Without the buggy that works, we can’t get out. We’d go to the children’s centre (if we could)”
“My son haven’t gone to nursery all term because we can’t use the buggy.”
“Since the buggy broke, I’ve stopped going out without my partner. We’re basically housebound.”
The extent to which the reduction of Sure Start Children’s Centres has affected children and families, particularly children from disadvantaged backgrounds
For families on a low income, stimulus and support outside the home can be critical in levelling up the disparities that can arise very early in a child’s life. However, this requires access to free services in easy reach of families’ homes, and the means to get to them. Access to play spaces, local activities and support is often a ‘postcode lottery’[4].
In our survey of families on low incomes in 2021/22:
- 42% said that the lack of availability of free, local activities and support for children has had a negative impact on their child’s development or health
- 38%) said that the lack of availability of free, local activities and support for parents/caregivers has had a negative impact on their health (physical or mental) or that of their partner
“I feel like they're cutting everything down, and it's really impacting on the families. In my local area, they've closed down a number of children's centres, and I remember when I had my son, the children's centres were a lifeline for me, when it came to my mental health because I was a new mum, my partner was not around, I didn't have any family. So them closing the childrens centres now and stopping those essential services for new parents, I really feel for the new mum.”
Conclusion
The need for affordable, flexible childcare affects families in all circumstances, and the Committee’s focus on this issue is very welcome.
The vulnerability of children in low income families means that a focus on providing wider, consistent access to high quality childcare and early education settings will make a significant impact on those children’s development, their family’s circumstances and their collective long term prospects.
January 2023
For further information, please contact Sophie Livingstone MBE, CEO: sophie@littlevillagehq.org