Parliamentary reporter @TrinderMatt

MINISTERS have “shamelessly, knowingly” underfunded the early years sector for a decade, driving childcare costs up and quality down, the Early Years Alliance (EYA) has charged.

Government briefing documents uncovered in a two-year investigation by the industry body reveal that the level of funding to support 30 hours of free pre-school childcare a week in England is less than two-thirds what ministers believed was needed. 

They also show the government was aware that insufficient investment would result in higher prices for parents and that nurseries would be forced to lower quality by maximising child-adult ratios just to stay open, the EYA said.