few parents are going to work anymore

This can be read in a new publication from the planning agencies.

Criticism of almost free childcare

In the longer term, the plan will yield little, a researcher told NU.nl. According to calculations by the CPB and SCP, the new childcare system will create only 15,000 jobs. Parents of middle- and high-income families already work a lot and low-income parents are not given an extra incentive to go to work, because they are already largely reimbursed for the costs. Moreover, the plan would actually increase the demand for childcare, which the industry cannot handle at all. Result? Price increases, waiting lists and lower quality of care. ‘Parents with low incomes and their children in particular will be the victims: they will have to pay more than in the current system’, it can be read.

Read also: Dozens of organizations call on the cabinet: ‘Make childcare free, good, without hassle and for all children’

Not good for developing children

According to the planning agencies, making childcare (almost) free also has negative consequences for the development of children and equality of opportunity. For example, the researchers write: ‘Children with disadvantages often belong to the lower income groups. It is precisely those groups that will not benefit from the government’s plan, because childcare will become more expensive and less accessible to them.’ The CPB and SCP ‘advise’ – officially they do not – the cabinet to reconsider the plans for free childcare and to focus mainly on the development of children and less on ‘more parents at work’

Source: RTL Nieuws, AD, NU.nl

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