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Facilities for children in Westminster
Temporary update 16 October 2010
Thoroughly revised 13 November 2008
Click here for
update: 20 March 2009
Temporary update -16 October 2010:
The information in this guide is now significantly out of date, particularly the section on childcare vouchers, responsibility for which now lies with IPSA. A useful list of FAQs on childcare vouchers is available on the IPSA website here. We understand that staff of Members who were returned after the 2010 election continue to get vouchers under the HoC scheme.
This guide will be thoroughly updated, including information about the new nursery in 1 Parliament Street, once we have all the current information.
When the current Palace of Westminster was designed in the 1830s, facilities for children were not part of the plan. These days, limited childcare facilities are available to those working in the Houses of Parliament but, unfortunately, Members of Parliament themselves are not offered any assistance.
Despite the fact that there are now 125 female Members of Parliament, there are no plans to introduce any further facilities for the use of Members. As Kitty Ussher MP reported in The Guardian in August 2005, the lack of facilities meant that she had to be excused from the whip until the next Parliamentary session. Her article can be found here.
Index:
The information on childcare vouchers has been removed, pending updating. A useful list of FAQs on childcare vouchers is available on the IPSA website here. We understand that staff of Members who were returned after the 2010 election continue to get vouchers under the HoC scheme.
The Westminster Holiday Playscheme runs during every school holiday and is available to civil servants of various Government departments and staff of the House of Commons. The Scheme has five sites around Westminster, all in government buildings and is run by Tinies Kids' Clubs. More information and a registration form can be found here – http://www.tinies.com/whp. They're registered with Accor, so you can use your childcare vouchers.
Baby changing facilities are open to visitors and can be found in the disabled-access WC off the Lower Waiting Hall, and on the second floor, next to the WCs behind the Pulpit on the Upper Committee Corridor. There is also a babycare room here.
Further information on all of the above childcare facilities available to Members' Staff can be found on the Department for Finance and Administration's intranet site. There's a link from the Parliamentary Network homepage.
You may also like to try the Westminster Family Information Service, run by Westminster Council, which provides information and guidance on Ofsted-registered childcare services in Westminster, including day nurseries, out of school childcare facilities, playgroups and childminders. The Family Information Service can be contacted on 02076417929 or visit the website here – http://www.westminster.gov.uk/childrensinfo/.
Update: 20 March
2009
The website A Working Mum (www.aworkingmum.co.uk/)
got in touch with us and we recommend you have a look at all the information
and advice they have available.
