LGA responds to Early Years Alliance report on funding of early years childcare

Responding to an Early Years Alliance report which found underfunding of early years has led to higher childcare costs for parents, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said:

“Effective, high quality early years provision makes a significant difference to young children, helping to break the cycle of disadvantage and improving social mobility.

“Early years is an essential element of levelling up. To help the national recovery, it is vital that all parents have access to the good quality childcare they need to enable them to return to work, while ensuring that children have the support they need to develop school readiness.

“We have long highlighted that the early entitlements are underfunded. This underfunding, alongside a fall in income from parents during lockdowns, was a key factor in the challenges face by early years providers throughout the pandemic as they worked hard to support children and families.

“The forthcoming Spending Review should properly resource all early years settings so that councils and providers can support the Government’s ambition to reduce the attainment gap and ensure that every child has the best start in life.”