As chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Margaret Hodge has presided over what could prove to be a very influential report on the funding of the free entitlement for threeand four-year-olds (see Analysis, pages 14-15).
Mrs Hodge was a fiercely committed children's minister, who was never afraid to take the civil service or other politicians to task. The hard-hitting PAC report, which talks of the Department for Education's 'limited understanding' of how the early education money is spent, could finally move the impasse on the free entitlement on.
It should lead at least to local authorities publishing how much of the Dedicated Schools Grant they spend on the free entitlement - indications are that this ranges from 3.5 per cent to 9.8 per cent. True transparency could effect some change.
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