Labour has accused the government of putting parents in an “impossible position” by urging a return to offices over the summer but failing to provide childcare.
Boris Johnson on Friday announced that guidance to work from home where possible would be ending on 1 August, despite the misgivings of some of his senior scientific advisers.
The prime minister said people should return to the workplace at the “discretion” of their employers, amid fears that businesses that rely on servicing office workers are suffering.
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But Labour leader Keir Starmer said the government had rushed into the announcement without giving parents help to look after children over the summer.
“We all want society to get moving again, but it requires a clear plan and national leadership from the government,” Mr Starmer said.
“Despite ordering millions of parents back to the office, the prime minister has refused to provide any extra help for families, penalising parents by putting them in an impossible position.
“Parents got a back-to-work notice on Friday just as the summer holidays began. But they got no support for structured activities, no summer catch-up schemes, and no support for a childcare sector on its knees.
“If we are going to reopen our society and economy safely and successfully, we need the public to have confidence in the government’s advice, we need test, track and trace to be working properly, and we need proper support for children to learn and for parents to get back to work.”
Schools in England are not set to return in earnest until September, presenting extra childcare challenges for parents – though the Scottish government has indicated that there, pupils may be asked to attend during August.
But the pandemic also presents extra difficulties. Nearly a third of children are normally being looked after by their grandparents, according to the government’s own surveys, but social distancing advice for older people means this will no longer be an option for many families who currently rely on it.
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Major holiday activity providers such as Ultimate Activity Camps and Barracudas have already cancelled their summer 2020 programmes on the basis of advice warning against mass events.
The Bank of England governor warned last week that a lack of people travelling to city centre offices would make it harder for output to recover, given the centrality of the mode of production to the UK economy.
The children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield on Friday called for parents to be given 30 hours’ free childcare for their children from the age of two, with 15 hours for infants after their first birthday.
The commissioner also said nunneries, playgroups and childminders needed an emergency rescue package, amid warnings that as many as a quarter could close due to lack of funding.
Parents are currently provided with 30 hours free childcare for children aged three and four as long as they do not earn more than £100,000, with 15 hours only offered to the parents of two-year olds for disadvantaged parents.
The government has committed £9m in support for free meals and summer activities for children, but Labour says this will mean covering only 50,000 of the nearly 9 million school-aged children in England.
