「夏休みだけ開所」に補助検討　学童の待機児童対策―政府

　政府は２５日、共働き家庭の小学生を預かる放課後児童クラブ（学童保育）の待機児童解消に向けた対策をまとめた。預かり需要が増える夏休みだけ開所する学童保育を増やすため、２０２５年度から開所日数が少なくても補助金を出す方向で検討。人件費や物件家賃への補助も２４年度から拡充する。
　こども家庭庁によると、今年５月１日時点の利用児童数は前年比６万５２２６人増の１４５万７３８４人（確定値）で過去最高。待機児童は１０９６人増えて１万６２７６人だった。
　一方で、１０月１日時点の待機児童数を初めて調べたところ８４８７人（速報値）に減った。入学したてで慣れない年度初めや夏休みのニーズが高い一方、９月以降は需要が落ち着くためとみられる。
　政府は２３年度までに待機児童を解消する目標を立てていたが、「達成は困難」（こども家庭庁幹部）と判断。そのため新たな対策を定め、「できる限り早期に解消を図る」と明記した。
　学童保育への国の補助金は、年間開所日数が２００日以上でないと出ない。夏休みだけ開所するところは自治体の補助金で運営していることが多いという。こども家庭庁は来年１月以降、各地の学童保育にヒアリングを行い、実態を踏まえて夏休み限定の場合も補助金を出せるよう検討する。
　また２４年度から、常勤職員を増やした学童保育への人件費補助を拡大。物件を借りて運営する場合は家賃の補助額も引き上げる。（2023/12/25-14:41）

The Japanese government on Monday adopted a set of measures to reduce to zero the number of children waiting to be accepted into "gakudo hoiku" after-school facilities for elementary school students whose both parents work.
   The national government currently gives subsidies to gakudo hoiku facilities that are open for 200 days or more a year. The package includes a plan to provide the aid also to facilities that are open for fewer days from fiscal 2025, in order to boost the number of facilities that are operated only during the summer break, when demand grows.
   According to the Children and Families Agency, a record high of 1,457,384 children were using gakudo hoiku facilities as of May 1 this year, up by 65,226 from a year before, while 16,276 children were on the waiting lists, up by 1,096.
   But the number of children on the lists dropped to 8,487 as of Oct. 1 on a preliminary basis, suggesting that demand for gakudo hoiku facilities tends to grow during the summer break but to fall in September and later, after the end of the summer break. It was the first time for the survey as of the beginning of October to be carried out.
   The central government had aimed to reduce the number of children on the waiting lists to zero by fiscal 2023. Now that the goal seems difficult to achieve, however, it drew up the new measures to ensure that no children are on the lists as soon as possible.