London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

New research shows that it makes good economic sense for the Government to fully-fund nursery places for poor families.

Published later this month, the study by Professor Ian Roberts of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Professor Miranda Mugford of the University of East Anglia (UEA) concludes that Britain would be better off even in the short term if it invested more on high quality day care for disadvantaged pre-school children.

The research team found that only 18 months after being offered a full-time nursery place, parents in Hackney, one of the poorest parts of the country, were more likely to be in paid employment, with their children developing normally and in good health.

The Government-funded research found that the cost to the Government of providing a nursery place is on average £12,278 over an 18-month period. This outlay saves families private child care costs, and saves the Government and families on health care expenditure, as well as improving the parents' chance of getting paid work. The study estimates that offering day care in areas of poverty results in a net social gain of £837 per household taking up a place.

Professor Ian Roberts says: "Rich families pay for day care knowing that it is a good investment but poor families cant afford it, which means they dont start building their household earnings until their children are much older".

Evidence from the USA has already shown that investing in day care for poor families makes sense, but this is the first time there has been good evidence from the UK and the message is exactly the same.

The project was funded by Department of Healths research and development directorate. The full results will be published in Volume 32 of the journal Child: Care, Health & Development.