Why does the government value pubs more than childminders?

This week, we heard that every pub in England will receive a 15 per cent reduction on its business rates bill from April, as part of a new support package for pubs and music venues. This comes on top of measures announced in November’s Autumn Budget, with Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson telling the Commons that these businesses deserve targeted help.

As the General Secretary of the National Union of Childminders, I welcome support for any sector under pressure. But I have to ask a simple question: why does the government not value childcare and childminding in the same way it values pubs and hotels?

For months, childminders have been campaigning to retain the 10 per cent wear-and-tear allowance. This allowance recognises the real additional household costs of providing regulated childcare from home, including heating, lighting, furniture, toys, equipment, cleaning, and ongoing maintenance. It is not a perk. It is what helps make childminding financially sustainable.

Yet the government, working with HMRC, plans to remove this allowance from April 2026. This proposal is unfair, runs counter to the principles of the Employment Rights Bill, and risks pushing even more childminders out of an already fragile sector.

The consequences are stark. Thousands of childminder settings are closing every year. Over the last decade, the number of registered childminders has halved. These are not abstract figures. They represent families left without childcare, parents unable to work, and communities losing trusted local provision.

At the same time, government policy is increasingly focused on pushing babies and young children into school-based nurseries. For many families, this simply does not work. Childminders offer early starts, late finishes, weekend care, overnight care, and flexible arrangements that sit far outside the typical school-based nursery day of 9am to 3.30pm, term-time only.

Childminders are not a “nice to have”. We are essential infrastructure - just as vital to the economy as hospitality. Parents cannot work without childcare. Employers cannot recruit or retain staff without it.

If pubs deserve recognition and financial support because of their social and economic value, then childcare deserves at least the same respect. The government must rethink this proposal, retain the wear-and-tear allowance, and start valuing childcare and childminding as the essential public service it truly is.

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Marcia Steele was a teacher & deputy-headteacher for over 20 years, a former childminder, and is now the General Secretary of the National Union of Childminders.

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