Labour woos women voters with tax breaks on nannies

Labour will seek to con-solidate its family friendly credentials and woo women voters today by giving middle-income families tax breaks for hiring nannies.

The scheme will see thousands of families that earn less than £43,500 benefiting - at a cost to the Treasury of £12m a year. Ministers hope the payment - of £135 a week for one cuhild or £200 for two - will allow more women to be able to go out to work.

With a nanny costing up to £27,000 a year in the capital and £15,000 elsewhere, many mothers in jobs not compatible with nursery hours cannot afford to return to the workplace. Until now only families using childminders and nur-series had been eligible for help with childcare through the child tax credit, which puts money back into pay packets for approved facilities.

But critics of this system, including the Blairite outrider and former cabinet minister Stephen Byers, have argued that it penalises parents whose jobs demand greater flexibility. Under the new scheme, which is expected to be introduced next April, families with nannies will benefit, as will those that employ childminders to look after children in their own homes.

Parents who place their children in breakfast or holiday clubs for the over-sevens where childcare is the main purpose will also get the perk, as will those putting children under eight in clubs that last less than two hours.

But, in a move that will anger parents who rely on extended families, the tax break will not extend to grandparents -another suggestion of Mr Byers'. Ministers believe it would be "inappropriate" to bring money into family arrangements.

Yesterday the children's minister, Margaret Hodge, stressed the extent to which childcare had become an electoral issue when she sought to highlight the government's record on childcare.

The current tax credit system helps 318,000 families and is worth up to 70% of the weekly childcare bill.

But Labour women MPs, including Ms Hodge and the cabinet ministers Patricia Hewitt and Harriet Harman, have warned that women are becoming less likely to vote at all, and that more needs to be done to win them over.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are also seeking to woo women voters with pledges on childcare. The Tories are looking at paying mothers to care for children at home, though the scheme would only be worth around £150 a month, and the LibDems have pledged an extra £250m on childcare a year.

Yesterday Ms Hodge said: "Labour is convinced that childcare is now top of the agenda for this election campaign. It will be a major issue for parents and families come polling day.

"Over six million families and 10 million children are benefiting from Labour's new tax credits. But we need to do more, so our new plans - and the priority we will give this issue in our manifesto - will show mums and dads that Labour is on their side, understands the pressures they face nowadays and is coming up with new ways to help them balance work and family life.

"And we will be taking every opportunity we can to ram home the message that the Tories are committed to cutting childcare as part of their plans to cut an immediate £18bn from public spending."

The plan would see nannies and after-school club workers having to register and undergo training such as first aid courses, and criminal checks, before the benefit could be received for them.

Anne Longfield, director of the charity 4Children, said the measures would close dangerous loopholes and welcomed the flexibility they provided.

"People want their children to be looked after in their own home, which is particularly important to those who work non-office hours or shifts and for parents of disabled children", she said. "Until now, no national quality checks were available or any access to financial support. This scheme offers the potential to offer new flexible choices, with peace of mind and financial support for those who need it."