Childcare expansion will tackle poverty gap says Clegg

The Deputy Prime Minister set out details of an extension of the scheme for two-year-old children to cover the 40 per cent of families “most feeling the squeeze”.

The Liberal Democrat leader said his party wanted to extend free support to all two-year-olds but acknowledged there were “limited resources” to fund the policy.

Households in England which qualify for free school meals are already eligible for 15 hours a week of free childcare and the policy will now be extended to families earning less than £16,190 per year who receive working tax credits as part of a £760m package.

Adopted children, those in care and youngsters with a disability or special educational needs will also benefit from the changes to be brought in next September, Mr Clegg said.

Speaking at a west London nursery, the Deputy Prime Minister said: “I know that some of you will be thinking ‘why not give this free support to every two-year-old? Why not help every family?’

“And it is certainly the Liberal Democrats’ long-term ambition to extend free support to all two-year-olds. But the fact is that at a time of limited resources you’ve got to start somewhere.

“And for me, it’s better for us to start with those children who can benefit most from high quality early years education, but who too often miss out.

“All the evidence shows that if you take two young children – hanging up their coats next to each other on the first day of school – the poorer child will already be behind their better-off classmate.

“And if we don’t step in to help these children, that gap just keeps getting bigger. We’re talking about a child’s journey through life already being mapped out for them before they’ve even set foot in a classroom.

Some 130,000 two-year-olds (20 per cent) are currently eligible for free childcare, based on whether their family qualifies for free school meals or whether they are cared for by a local authority.

Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg said the Government was failing to deliver the extra nursery places needed for the measures it had already announced.

He said: “David Cameron has created a cost of living crisis for hard working families. Whilst parents are feeling the squeeze of childcare, the Prime Minister has presided over reduced support, rising costs and fewer places.”

Family and Childcare Trust chief executive Anand Shukla voiced fears that nursery closures could impede the delivery of free childcare. “We are concerned that loss of nursery provision in children’s centres is impacting on local authorities’ ability to find sufficient places for the offer,” he said.