Cutting the Children's Plan recommends abolishing many of the programmes introduced under Labour to save £1.9 billion of the £5 billion 2010/2011 budget.
Responsibility for an extra £2.3 billion should be devolved to local government, leaving just £0.8 billion with central government.
Programmes are 'highly centralised' and 'over-bureaucratic' and responsibility for them, including Sure Start, should be devolved to local councils, parents and schools.
The report said, 'A new Government committed both to devolving power and to reducing quangos and bureaucracy, should reassess the underlying approach to the Children's Plan, and reform or abolish many of these expensive and ineffective programmes.'
It said Sure Start centres should become self-funding but able to apply for annual local authority grants for the 10 per cent poorest families with pre-school children. This would reach around 300,000 families and save £835m.
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