Nursery World - Link child benefit to take-up of free hours, says think-tank

A new think tank report calls for parents to be denied child benefit if they fail to take advantage of the free hours and enrol their children in early years settings.

The penalty would apply to parents of three- and four-year-olds and those with two-year-olds eligible for the free 15 hours of childcare.

The recommendation is one of a number of proposals for Government outlined in the think tank Bright Blue’s new report, which looks at ways to reduce poverty in the UK.

The report, ‘Reducing poverty by promoting diverse social networks for disadvantaged people from ethnic minority groups’, is based upon new empirical evidence that shows having stronger and more diverse relationships reduce the likelihood of an individual living in poverty.

Within it Bright Blue argues that the ‘poorest’ adults and children are often the least likely to participate in Sure Start centres or nurseries, meaning they miss out not only on the important services being offered by settings, but the chance to diversify their social networks, which can lead to increased knowledge.

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