What immediately actionable policy would help increase birth rate in the UK?

Building more affordable and social houses may help people start families in around 5 years time minimum, assuming build times and then the time for couples to save and prepare to take up one of those houses once available. Bearing in mind menopause is approaching fast for many elder millennials, which makes that timescale too late for a cohort of the childless millennial generation stuck in private rentals.

Expanding childcare options is very much needed, but how immediate could this be? The workers are not there, I see this myself while looking for childcare as an expectant parent. There is simply no capacity, costs are too high and the workforce of childcare workers is just too small. This would take years to incentivise and implement.

The only thing I can imagine that could be immediate at government level is giving all workers, where possible, the right to WFH and flexible working weeks, whatever works for their needs. Compressed 4 days, displacing a couple of weeks days onto Saturday and Sunday. Core office hours with potential for WFH top up to allow pick ups and drops offs. Working from home essentially scraps commuting times, a big relief for dual income families.

I understand the reasons many in corporate and management do not like work from home, but they need to be made to suck it up. The working week is no longer fit for purpose and we are seeing the consequences by clinging onto old fashioned norms in the digital age. I commute to an office just to Zoom with a team in New York. And because of that I need to pay over £1300 per month in childcare costs.

Change my mind!