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Twenty- five years ago Margaret Thatcher's first health secretary, Patrick Jenkin, said: "Quite frankly I don't think mothers have the same right to work as fathers do. If the good Lord had intended us to have equal rights to go out to work, He wouldn't have created man and woman. These are biological facts."

Today in Britain, most mothers, even of very young children, have paid work and the Conservative Party's shadow secretary for the family, Theresa May, is reassuring the public that they should no longer assume her party "would always be saying 'Thou shall sit at home'. We are not: we are saying this is about choice for families."

The prime minister at the Day Care Trust's annual conference last year promised universal affordable child care for all three and four year olds and a Sure Start Children's Centre in every community. The publication in early December of Choice for Parents, the Best Start for Children: a Ten-Year Strategy for Childcare, spelt out in more detail how this major expansion is to be achieved. Earlier this month, Gordon Brown argued that Labour's next manifesto should aspire to giving all British children the best start in life and that the government must prove this ambition by prioritising child care.

In Britain, therefore, child care policies have now moved to the centre stage of social policy and are heavily linked to both employment policies and the objective of abolishing child poverty within the next 20 years.

"Choice", "flexibility" and "affordability" are key words used across the political spectrum with respect to child care, although there are different views about how these are best achieved.

The latest strategy document describes how the government's aspirations are to be achieved for three to four year olds and for school age children. These plans have a degree of continuity with current policies although there are still major obstacles, in particular the creation of a stable, well-trained and well-paid child care workforce. Moreover, can we really achieve sustainable, universal and affordable services with heavy dependence on the private-for-profit sector combined with a reluctance to raise taxes?

Policies for two year olds and under remain the most problematic and are a long way from offering parents real choice. First, formal group child care services for very young children are expensive for they require high staffing ratios. The expansion of free pre-school education for three and four year olds has enabled the government to directly subsidise places for this group, half of which are now found in the private-for-profit sector. There is some discussion of expanding "education" - whatever that means - to two year olds but only as pilot projects in disadvantaged areas. This will do little to encourage the private sector to expand provision for very young children.

Second, the impact of group care on the well-being and development of children under two years remains contentious, although research confirms that quality and consistency of care is crucial to their well-being.

Third, however, new figures suggest the decline in childminder numbers has been halted and there are more policies to support the care of children in their own homes including the recognition of registered nannies (but not grannies) in the child care tax credit system.

Fourth and very important, is the extension of paid maternity leave to a year and the proposal to allow mothers to transfer part of their leave to fathers. However, British mothers, in the context of British long hours work culture, know they pay heavily in reduced future earnings and career opportunities by working shorter or flexible hours or taking leave even if they can afford to do so. These lessons are not lost on fathers. A recent study on paternity leave shows that across the EU fathers are concerned about damaging their careers and are not inclined to take leave unless their earnings are fully replaced. Britain is still a long way from fully valuing children and those who care for them.

Hilary Land is emeritus professor and senior research fellow at the Centre for Family Policy and Child Welfare, University of Bristol.