Kelly: Help for parents

Labour has pledged more help for parents if it is re-elected on May 5.

Ruth Kelly said the party would offer choice and improvement in education and childcare.

And ministers would encourage pupils to reach their full potential, the education secretary said on Wednesday.

Kelly also announced extra "catch up help" for struggling primary school pupils and an extended programme for gifted and talented students.

"Labour believes in opportunity and security for all, the chance for everyone to succeed," she said.

"Parents are responsible for bringing up children, government can't be.

"But we believe that government has a duty to be on the side of parents."

Helpline

Kelly announced that, if re-elected, Labour would set up a Parents Direct helpline modelled on NHS Direct.

The phone service would offer guidance to stressed mothers and fathers as part of Labour's bid to help "hard working families".

Labour is committed to ensuring universal and affordable childcare for all three to 14-year-olds by 2010, along with a Sure Start centre in "every community".

Ministers also want to increase paid maternity leave to nine months from 2007, and aim to make it last a year by the end of the next parliament.

Elsewhere, the child tax credit will go up at least in line with earnings until 2007/08.

The Labour manifesto commits the government to acting as "not a nanny state but a family-friendly government".

Tory attack

Kelly was joined by campaign chief Alan Milburn who sought remind voters of what was at stake.

Milburn turned his fire on the Tories, amid fresh evidence that Labour's poll lead is widening.

"In this election the prosperity of Britain's hardworking families is the big issue," he told journalists.

Douglas Alexander, a Foreign Office minister, also attacked Conservative plans to subsidise private education with public funds for parents who pay half of the fees, where they are equal to or less than the average state school cost per pupil.

"Conservatives have estimated that the cost of this policy would be £1bn in deadweight cost - subsidising those parents already paying private school fees - and a further £1bn, based on their own assumptions for additional take-up," he said.

"So the flagship Tory education policy - the pupil's passport - would cut £2bn from the budgets of state schools for all pupils - equivalent to cutting £200 per pupil from the state system."