A debate on childcare funding and affordability in the UK will be held in Parliament following a petition launched by Grazia, The Juggle and Pregnant Then Screwed. The petition, which received over 100,000 signatures in just one week, called on the Government to commission an independent review into the childcare sector and accept its recommendations.
Having reached the 100,000 signatures mark, the petition was delivered to Parliament on 8 June and the Petitions Committee has now agreed to schedule it for debate at a later date.
The petition was created at the start of June as it was revealed that the UK has the second most expensive childcare system in the world and Government funding to the childcare sector was recently cut, despite it being in the middle of a pandemic, says Grazia.
Hattie Brett, Editor of Grazia said: “We’re so thankful to everyone who has supported our campaign so far and signed the petition. Through our new parenting community @TheJuggleUK we knew that many parents were struggling with the current childcare system, but we weren’t expecting such an overwhelming amount of support in its first few days. Now that we’ve reached our first goal, we can’t wait to continue our work with Pregnant Then Screwed and make a change.”
Joeli Brearley, Founder, Pregnant Then Screwed, added: “We are delighted that we have not only received over 100,000 signatures on our petition but that Parliament has agreed to hold a debate to explore the notion of an independent review in more detail. This is the power of collective action. Thank you to everyone who signed, shared and supported. You made this happen.”
For more information about the campaign, head to and follow @thejuggleuk and @pregnant_then_screwed.
