Increasing free childcare schemes will boost the economy, new study claims trends now
View
comments
Schemes offering free childcare can boost the economy, according to a study that showed a previous initiative added £22.3billion to output and brought 286,000 people into work.
Research by PwC and the Salvation Army evaluated the impact of a 2017 move in England doubling the amount of free childcare available for three and four year olds from 15 hours a week to 30 hours.
It comes at a time when policy makers are wrestling with how to bring more people back into the workforce - at a time when 8.7million working age people are classed as economically inactive.
In this year’s Budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced plans for a gradual expansion of 30 hours of free childcare for all working parents of children over the age of nine months.
Researchers studying the 2017 scheme for three and four-year-olds said they were able to calculate its effectiveness by drawing comparisons with Scotland, where similar childcare provision was not available until
