The state has failed to adapt to changing needs on childcare. There has never been a national strategy to ensure that childcare in Britain matches women's changing role in the labour market. The issue of affordability has been ignored for too long. And the childcare disregard has benefited only 31,000 families - less than 5 per cent of Family Credit recipients. The state has long failed to recognise the importance of unpaid work and the informal sector.
Unpaid work plays a vital role in stitching together the fabric of society.
This Government is not prepared to sit by and watch women being failed in all of these different ways. That is why we are embarked on a wide ranging programme of reform to ensure that women get a new deal from the state. This new deal must ensure that we help women from welfare into work, that we ensure that work pays and that we support women in all of their diverse roles. We have started to implement the new deal for Lone Parents, giving women the advice and support they need in finding work, to improve their own and their children's lifelong prospects. Not just for the financial rewards but for the self-respect and independence work brings.