England is one of only a few countries where poorer families spend a higher proportion of their income on childcare than their more well-off peers, new research finds.
In a new report comparing current reforms to England’s childcare offer to recent reforms in Australia, Canada, Estonia, France and Ireland, the Fawcett Society finds that “England should focus financial support for early childhood education and care (ECEC) on those who need it most”.
“The UK is an outlier in that poorer families spend proportionately more of their income on ECEC than richer families,” states the report, which was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Researchers call for government funding for “free hours” to fully reflect the cost of delivery and say that low-income families should be “prioritised for subsidies – either through income dependent subsidies or capped parent fees”.
