The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is calling on the Chancellor to invest £8.9bn into the early years ahead of the Spring Budget next month (15 March).
Within its submission to the Treasury, the CBI, a membership organisation which supports 190,000 businesses, calls for additional investment and reform to childcare and early years support to create an ‘accessible and affordable system’, helping people to remain, return and progress in employment.
It says this should include:
- Launching an independent review of childcare with the objective of reducing the service cost for parents, while maintaining high-quality provision, creating a sustainable funding and employment model, and increasing parental employment.
- Increasing funding so providers receive funding that ‘reflects the true cost of service provision’, with a clear timeline for when funding will be provided.
- The roll out of existing provision for three and four-year-olds to all one and two-year-olds, taking into account their differing needs.
- Paying childcare support through universal credit upfront rather than in arrears.
