Public money would be more effectively spent if childcare costs were split between the state and the individual, according to the objective of the care, says a report by a leading think-tank.
Peter Robinson, senior economist at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the two broad outcomes of childcare - the development of children and the boosting of the labour market by enabling parents to work - were often erroneously lumped together.
The report, How do we pay? The funding of public services, calls for childcare to be funded in different ways. It says the state should take on the funding for development-oriented childcare, such as nursery education, while the state and individuals should bear the cost of childcare designed to help parents back into work.
- www.ippr.org.uk.
