• Labour analysis shows that the weekly cost of holiday childcare has risen by
  over 50 per cent across the UK;
• Greater London, the North East, and the West Midlands are the worst affected
  areas;
• Over the same period, official figures suggest that wages are lower in real
  terms than they were in May 2010 when the Conservatives took office.

Labour
analysis shows that, across Britain as a whole, the average weekly cost of
childcare has risen by over 50 per cent from 2010 to 2017.

In the
North East, the worst affected area, the average weekly cost of childcare has
more than doubled, while the West Midlands has seen an increase of 82 per cent
and Greater London an increase of 73 per cent.

Over the
same period, official figures suggest that average weekly earnings have fallen
in real terms, leaving working families paying a greater proportion of their
income to cover the cost of childcare.

Angela
Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, speaking at a visit to the
Wishing Well community project in Crewe, will say:

“The Tories are quite simply failing working parents, who
are seeing the cost of their childcare skyrocket, their wages fall, and their
Government failing to give them the support they need.

“Childcare costs have shot up since the Conservatives took office
in 2010, and both wages and Government support have failed to keep pace with
either the cost of childcare or the needs of families.”

Sue Hayman MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs, commenting on the House of Lords EU Environment Committee report
on animal welfare, said:

“Vets play a key role in ensuring the humane slaughter of animals
and the proper certification of animal shipments. With EU nationals making up
more than 90 per cent of slaughterhouse vets, the concerns expressed in the
report today about vet numbers after Brexit should cause the Government to lay
out plans for the long term recruitment and retention of vets.

“The Conservatives seem to have a problem with animal welfare and
food standards, with a manifesto commitment to bring back fox hunting and
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox appearing to support importing
chlorine-washed chicken as part of a US-UK trade deal.

“Labour calls on the Government to secure the inclusion of high
farm animal welfare standards in any trade agreements negotiated after
Brexit.“

John
Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, commenting on Government plans
to ban leaseholds on new-build houses, said:

“The
Government has known about and ignored the ground rents scandal for a long
time, allowing hard-working families to be ripped off under costly leasehold
agreements.

“Labour has said
for the last year that using leasehold to sell homes is unfair and unjustifiable.
And at the Election we said we’d end the routine use of leasehold ownership for
all new homes and cap charges on ‘ground rents’ to stop the scam.

“The Government’s
pledge is welcome but legislation is needed and this got no mention in last month’s
Queen’s Speech. Home-buyers need legislation to ensure the end of this
leasehold abuse, cap rip-off rises in ground rent and deal with existing
contracts that contain unfair buy-out clauses.

“Nearly half of all
newly-built properties were sold leasehold last year, and existing leaseholders
need stronger rights too.”

Andy
McDonald MP. Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, responding to
the publication of Transport Focus latest National Rail Passenger Survey,
said:

“With
promised upgrades delayed or cancelled and fares rising way ahead of wages,
it’s disappointing but not surprising that passenger satisfaction remains low
despite small improvements on the previous survey.

“The
results also reveal a concerning decline in passengers’ sense of personal
security, bringing into question the government’s policy of de-staffing and
de-skilling the railway.

“With
fewer than half of passengers finding value for money in the price of their
ticket, it’s becoming more difficult for the government to justify allowing
private and foreign state-owned companies to take money out of the system that
should be used to improve services or hold fares down.

“It’s
clear than an alternative is needed for Britain’s railways. It is time for our
railways to be run under public ownership, in the public interest as an
integrated national asset, with affordable fares for all and long-term
investment in the railway network.”

Justin
Madders MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, commenting on the news that NHS
officials have ordered a national review of A&E diverts amid serious safety
fears, said:

“A&E
departments nationwide are under relentless pressure as a result of Theresa
May’s sustained underfunding of our NHS, and it is patients with urgent health
needs who are paying the price.

“Simply
put, it is completely unacceptable for anyone desperately needing treatment to
be turned away and yet under the Tories, ambulance diverts have hit record
highs.

“Patient
safety must be our absolute priority and any streaming system which places
patients’ lives at risk is entirely unacceptable.

“It
is time Jeremy Hunt accepted our emergency care system stands on a crucial
knife-edge. Without urgent and sustained investment to ease these acute
strains, an unprecedented crisis this winter looks increasingly likely.”