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Today’s Autumn Statement from Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Hammond made no mention of additional support for the early years sector.

 

While the Chancellor’s speech covered a variety of areas – including banning letting agents’ fees and raising tax-free personal allowances – the Chancellor did not reveal any plans to better fund or support the early years sector.

 

Neil Leitch, chief executive at the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said that he was disappointed at the lack of action on early years underfunding, noting the vital role the sector plays in supporting children’s learning and development, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

 

“Despite much government rhetoric on the importance of closing the gap and improving children’s life chances, the increased investment needed to achieve these goals has not yet materialised,” Neil said.

 

He added that for years, government funding hasn’t kept up with the rising costs of delivering free entitlement places, and with the roll-out of the 30-hours less than a year away and the national living wage set to increase next year, the chronic underfunding needs to be addressed.

 

“Today was a missed opportunity for the government to show that it had listened to the sector’s concerns and taken the steps needed to ensure that it will be able to deliver on the promise that it made to parents last year,” Neil said.