How does this impact on Community Wellbeing? When local large firms (over 20 workers) use out of norm childcare hours - it's hard for the single parent/solo parent (where other parent works away from home) to get into workplace. In predominantly tourist areas - the need to work weekends are paramount as are early starts/late finishes - if you can't work weekends - you don't get the job. In rural areas where only job is tourism - that knocks 90% of job market out. You get penalised on benefits because you're turning down work (because no adequate childcare) ergo food/clothing banks the norm. Parents are stressed trying to source childcare, in some rural areas there's no childminders/nurseries at all. Large firms should be required to contribute to running if not running nurseries/day care - after all they benefit from having less stressed workforce. Several firms could band together. If they can run free transports - why not childcare thus it's a community raising a community. Why should the Committee focus on this as part of their future work? The Govt cannot fund everything. It relies on businesses to bring in the money. Businesses need a workforce. If parents cannot have time to work/study then businesses don't get a qualified/experienced workforce. Businesses used to run daycare however got taxed out of existence. The Govt need to look at tax laws to allow/incentivise firms to offer this benefit. Childcare is the lifeblood of future workforce.
The community feels firms care about them as a community not a commodity. The firms get a reliable experienced workforce. Children grow up feeling secure in a routine and less likely to go off the rails feeling nobody cares or that they are the stress cause to making parents miserable. Businesses benefit from loyal staff interested in making the business work for them/the community and perhaps extra tax breaks. Government gets people working therefore paying taxes and not taking benefits.
This content is created by the open source Your Priorities citizen engagement platform designed by the non profit Citizens Foundation