Gingerbread welcomes introduction of new childcare deposit scheme that will make it easier for single parents to enter work in London

Gingerbread welcomed the introduction of a new childcare deposit scheme across all organisations in the Greater London Authority (GLA), including Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade, giving parents a helping hand to get back into the workplace.

Dalia Ben-Galim, Policy Director at Gingerbread said:

“Helping parents with the up-front costs of childcare when they start work is a brilliant move and is what Gingerbread and London’s single parents were calling for during the Mayoral election last year.

“Thousands of London’s single parents are being locked out of work due to the prohibitive cost of childcare and this scheme offers genuine support to parents who want to work.

“We welcome that the Mayor of London has made this available to all GLA workers, and we are keen to work with him to persuade all employers to offer a similar scheme to help parents with the high cost of childcare in London.

“A childcare deposit scheme should be as commonplace and easy to access as cycle to work schemes or season ticket loans and we look forward to working with the Mayor to see this happen for all parents across the capital.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:

“London is a city of opportunity for all, and it is unacceptable that parents are being locked out of the workplace because of crippling childcare costs. I’m pleased that we have been able to introduce a childcare deposit loan across the GLA, giving working families a helping hand, but we need more of the capital’s employers to follow our lead.

“I’ve pledged to work with employers to make childcare more affordable and accessible, with a strategy that delivers for business and workers across London. The benefits of accessible, good quality childcare are clear all round – parents will be able to return to work, children will have more access to quality early years education,  and employers will be able to reap the benefits of having skilled and eager parents back in the workplace.”