Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said she wants more young people in the UK to have children, expressing concern over the country's declining birthrate. In an article for the Daily Telegraph, she highlighted the government's plan to open nursery places in about 200 schools across England, aiming to make it easier for those who wish to start families.
The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen to 1.44 children per woman, the lowest since records began in 1938 and well below the replacement level of 2.1. The number of babies born in 2023 was the lowest since 1977. Phillipson described the trend as 'worrying' and said it told a heartbreaking story about 'dashed dreams of many families'.
She noted that while the number of women of childbearing age is at a record high, many are hesitant due to financial pressures and high housing costs. 'A generation of young people has been thinking twice about starting a family,' she wrote, citing rising mortgage and rent costs, as well as an expensive and insufficient childcare system.
Phillipson contrasted Labour's family-friendly policies, including school-based nurseries, free breakfast clubs, expanded free childcare hours, and a cap on school uniform costs, with what she called 'back-of-a-fag-packet solutions' proposed by Reform UK, such as abolishing the two-child benefit limit. Labour's plan will initially provide nursery places for 4,000 children, expanding to 300 schools later in the school year.
