News / Holiday Hunger
Lack of affordable childcare forcing families into debt and out of work
Kirsty Tait has spoken movingly at City Hall about being a teenage mum in BS13 and as “someone who’s had to navigate a broken childcare system”.
Tait, a Labour councillor for Hartcliffe & Withywood, put forward a motion at full council aimed at improving holiday childcare provision in Bristol.
Voted for unanimously, it calls on Bristol City Council to expand access to holiday childcare in particular for vulnerable groups, and envisages a national wraparound and holiday childcare strategy.
Hartcliffe & Withywood councillor Kirsty Tait says “living and working in BS13 has given me a sense of both responsibility and determination” – photo: Labour Party
Tait said: “I was a teenage mum. I’ve raised three boys in BS13 – as a working parent, a SEND parent and someone who’s had to navigate a broken childcare system.
“This motion comes from listening to residents, from families who tell me week-in week-out that childcare is the missing piece.
“It’s pushing people into debt, out of work and into impossible choices.
“BS13 is one of the most deprived areas in the UK, with some streets in the top one per cent for deprivation nationally.
“We have one of the youngest populations in Bristol, high rates of single parents, low household income and fewer than eight per cent of young people going to university.
“But my ward is not alone in this. These challenges are widespread, seen in urban, rural and coastal communities across the country.
“What’s happening in BS13 is happening in too many places because this is a systemic problem.
“It’s about a national childcare model that simply doesn’t work; particularly for those who need it most.
“Even families on Universal Credit are required to pay childcare costs upfront and claim back later; a model that leaves many locked out altogether.
“In fact, only 13 per cent of Universal Credit-eligible families are using this support.
“And those ‘just managing’ families – not on UC or free school meals, but barely scraping by – are often left with nothing.
“This motion offers a solution that is practical, fair, and rooted in lived-reality.
“For children: safe, enriching spaces to thrive.
“For families: freedom to work, breathe and stay afloat.
“For the economy: increased workforce participation, especially for women.
“For public services: less strain on social care, crisis support and mental health.
“And for communities like mine: the foundations of real opportunity.”
Main photo: Labour Party
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