Bringing up children is one of the most rewarding things you can do in life.

There's not much that beats it.

But it isn't always easy.

It never has been. It's always been a struggle to juggle the competing demands of work and family life.

I remember when our first child was born. I was in my mid thirties and climbing my way up the greasy pole of the legal profession.

I worked hard because I was determined to do the best by my family.

Like all parents, I wanted to provide them with a secure future. And that often meant I didn't get home until very late, or not at all if I was away working on a planning inquiry, which I frequently was.

And especially in the early years that sometimes made me feel like a bad parent.

My experience is shared by millions of people. I see my stepson and daughter-in-law struggling with the same dilemmas that Sandra and I wrestled with thirty years ago.

But the juggling act is harder for parents today, because lots of women with children now choose either to carry on working or have to get a job to make ends meet.

Seven out of ten mothers with dependent children work. That's why childcare is such a live issue in Britain today.

I often say that there are no easy answers in politics but there are simple ones. Sadly when it comes to childcare there are no easy or simple solutions - for the simple reason that every family's circumstances are different.

Labour tend to believe it's all or nothing. You're either a stay at home mum or a career woman. You're either Kate Reddy or Gywneth Paltrow.

But neither stereotype is true anymore.

As Catherine Hakim of the London School of Economics has shown 60 per cent of women are neither all career nor all home, they're simply trying to strike a balance between bringing up their children and bringing in some cash.

Of course, everyone likes to think that their family circumstances are typical.

That's why the childcare debate often gets rather heated.

People with one particular point of view assume that they are advocating an approach that will benefit the majority of families.

But all families are different. There is no one size fits all solution.

The Conservative Approach

Today I want to set out the principles behind our approach to childcare, explain some of the steps we would take in government and set out some policy proposals, on which we will consult.

First, families, not government, should decide how to they run their lives.

No one knows better than parents how to bring up their children.

Mothers don't want to be told by government that the best thing to do is to race back to work as soon as their baby's born.

Nor do they want to be told to stay at home indefinitely producing more and more children. They want to decide.

Second, our role as politicians is to support the choices that individual families make, and as everyone's aspirations are different, those choices will vary dramatically from family to family.

Third, because everyone's circumstances vary, we need flexible childcare arrangements.

We need a range of policies that address the three main groups of women, those who work full time, those who stay at home full time and those who work part time.

Fourth, we cannot put all the costs onto employers.

It's uneconomic. It's unfair, especially on small businesses. And it will actually damage the employment prospects of women.

We'll keep the current statutory system of maternity and paternity leave, as well as the right to request flexible working.

But it will take a lot to persuade me of the need to go further. Britain must remain competitive, or we risk destroying jobs and families' livelihoods.

Fifth, we need to recognise that many women rely on what I call the traditional support network, their parents, their children's grandparents.

A third of grandmothers spend the equivalent of three days a week caring for their grandchildren.

And finally, we must not over-regulate. Of course, childcare needs to be safe, children's safety is every parent's priority.

But over-regulation makes it hard to set up childcare facilities and hard to keep them going, and it increases the cost. Parents need predictability and affordability.

As I have said before, politicians don't have all the answers and they shouldn't pretend that they do. In any case, most people aren't asking for miracles.

They just want a government that makes their lives that little bit easier, that little bit better, month by month, year by year.

And that is what these childcare proposals will, I believe, achieve.

Sure Start

Sure Start has helped provide children's centres in some of our most deprived areas. And we will maintain it.

But too often Sure Start has elbowed out existing successful voluntary or private nurseries and play groups.

This, combined with unnecessary red tape and regulation, has led to childcare centres closing.

For every two childcare places that the Government has opened since 1997, another has closed.

It's stressful enough trying to find a nursery or play group in the first place, when it shuts it involves real anguish for parents and their children.

Stability and flexibility - they both matter.

So for the further roll out of Children Centres, we will give the private and voluntary sectors greater opportunities to participate in their provision.

And we will tackle the burden of regulation head on.

Action on Regulation

Of course, childcare needs to be safe. It needs to be high quality.

But there is far too much regulation at the moment and it's costing a lot of money.

So we will review every regulation and scrap the ones that aren't needed.

Red tape and regulation must not be allowed to drive nurseries and play groups out of business. Parents need more choice not less.

Action on Childminders

Of course, many people look to less formal kinds of care than nurseries.

Research carried out for the National Audit Office and published in March found that a third of working mothers preferred to use childminders - but that the number of places was actually falling.

We can do more to encourage childminding. Childminders cannot claim credits when looking after their own children, if they want the cash they have to send them to another childminder.

By allowing childminders who look after their own children as well as other people's to claim the credit, we hope to attract more people into the profession.

And we shouldn't forget grandparents. Not only will they have brought up children of their own they may well be caring for several grandchildren.

But they aren't made to feel welcome as childminders.

This is daft. We'll fast track them.

We'll say to grandmothers: "You don't need to be taught the basics, you just want to know that your skills are up to date. So instead of the standard course, you can do a specially tailored one?.

That's sensible, it's practical and it's what people want.

Flexible School Hours

More flexible school hours offer a real opportunity as well. Under a Conservative Government, all schools will have their independence, so they'll be free to tailor the education they provide to meet the needs of parents.

They can alter their opening and closing hours to suit local needs.

They are our schools, we've all paid our taxes. Why shouldn't we make better use of the facilities we have if that's what parents want?

Why can't children do a bit more sport after school, that would certainly help tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity that is sweeping our country?

Or supervised homework after school, that would have the added advantage that time spent with the kids in the evening wasn't bedevilled by arguments about home work.

It could be spent reading to them instead.

I always remember the joy of reading to my children. I believe it's a responsibility.

Parents are the first teachers in their children's lives, and they can also be the best.

Reforming Childcare Tax Credits

As I said earlier, choice is the key for most parents.

But many parents rightly say it's all very well talking about choice in childcare, but you can only exercise choice when you've got the money to pay for it.

The cost of childcare is the single biggest issue for many families. A nursery place can account for a quarter of the average family's income.

Labour have tried to address this problem through the childcare tax credit.

But the system has been designed in such a way that it restricts parents' choice.

It can only be spent on formal, registered care. That's wrong.

And it's bureaucratic. Parents have to notify the Inland Revenue every time they change their childcare arrangements.

So we are looking at ways in which the childcare element of the working tax credit could be paid automatically in cash to parents who qualify for it.

Parents will then be able to choose how to spend it, they'll be in the driving seat.

They can spend it on the childcare they want, not the childcare ministers think is best. It might be an au pair or even family and friends.

Remember that almost half of all childcare used by working parents is actually informal care.

Tax Relief on Childcare

Of course, for those parents who are not entitled to the credit, childcare is still an unavoidable expense when they work.

That's why I can announce today that Theresa May and Oliver Letwin will also be consulting on whether to make the cost of childcare tax deductible as well.

As Oliver and I have repeatedly made clear we want a fairer, lower tax system.

It may be that the best way to help families with the cost of childcare is just to lower the overall burden of tax that they pay.

They can then decide how to spend their money. But other countries offer tax relief on childcare and I am keen that Conservatives learn the lessons from abroad.

We need to be open minded in approaching these issues.

The First Year

Many women choose to stay at home. And many more would like the chance to stay at home during the first year, but feel forced back to work by money pressures.

It's not the job of the State to tell women they should or shouldn't go back to work. It's a decision for families, they know what's best.

But it would be better if parents had more choice.

Evidence suggests that it is in the first twelve months after birth that parents feel under the most pressure and, as a result, when most relationships break down.

We understand the Government is looking at extending statutory maternity pay to cover the first year.

We also know that at current levels it's often not enough to enable women who want to stay at home to do so.

So we'll consult on whether it would be better to have a more flexible arrangement, which would enable families to concentrate the payments over a six month period.

Theresa will be discussing this with interested parties to see if they believe it will help.

Again I want to approach these issues with an open mind. We have a duty to look at all the options.

Conclusion

I don't pretend that the proposals I have set out today will solve all the problems parents face in dealing with care for their children.

That would be impossible. When it comes to looking after children, life is certainly highly rewarding but it is never perfect.

Mothers who stay at home will always at times feel isolated, just as those who go out to work or get a part time job will sometimes feel over stretched.

Fathers who work full time will always worry that they don't see enough of their children, just as I did.

No politician can ever change that. Nor can we decide for parents what is right for their families.

But we can help increase the choices available to families.

We can ensure that regulation is light touch, so that nurseries and playgroups aren't driven out of business or more expensive than they need to be.