Speaking at a seminar in London this morning organised by 4Children (formerly the Kids Club Network) former Cabinet Minister Stephen Byers will say that a commitment to provide universal childcare should play a key role in maintaining the electoral coalition of support for New Labour, from traditional Labour supporters and those coming back or voting Labour for the first time, which led to landslide victories in the 1997 and 2001 elections.

But Stephen Byers will warn that to achieve this the government’s approach to childcare provision will need to change and move in a new direction – away from the present highly targeted approach to one which is universal with free places to those on low incomes and places available to those on higher incomes through a system of co-payments.

At the seminar Stephen Byers will say:

“on childcare Labour has a record in government of which it can be proud. The number of childcare places has increased by 1.6 million. There is now a nursery place for every 3 and 4 year old. Over half a million children have been lifted out of poverty. The Sure Start programme has been a great success.

“The Budget in March takes the measures a step further. By 2008 there will be 1,700 Children’s Centres. There will be funding for 100,000 additional childcare places and there will be a pilot programme to extend free part-time education to 6,000 two year olds in disadvantaged areas.

“These are significant advances which will dramatically improve the life chances of hundreds of thousands of children.

“Now is the time to push forward on this vital agenda and create a fundamental political dividing line with the Tories. We can do this by maintaining our support for the poorest whilst at the same time offering support and assistance to hard pressed parents on higher incomes who presently struggle to find an affordable childcare place.”

Stephen Byers will go on to say that this is an area where the controversial issue of co-payment for public services should be introduced.

He will say:

“There are some who resist absolutely the very notion of introducing co-payment for public services – a system under which those that can afford it make a financial contribution towards the cost of a public service from which they directly receive a benefit.

“Such a dogmatic attitude has all too often stifled the expansion of public service provision.

“Childcare is the type of service which lends itself well to the introduction of co-payments.

“Universal childcare – with places free to those on low incomes alongside places available to those on higher incomes through an income-related contribution – is the sort of policy that Labour needs to be promoting to maintain that coalition of support for New Labour that saw landslide victories in the 1997 and 2001 elections.

“With the average cost nationally of a nursery place for a child under two of around £6,500 and at over £8,000 in London and the South East, such a change of direction in childcare policy would have broad and popular support.”