In its new report, it warns that the shortfall could drive down childcare quality and leave the needs of working families unmet, with poorer outcomes for children and less choice for parents as the market shrinks.
The Government has allocated £365 million to the extension of the free hours for the first full year (2017-18), rising to £670 million in 2020/21.
However, the IPPR says that the policy will cost £1.6 billion in 2017/18 – a billion more than estimated.
The think tank points out that Scottish government costed a similiar proposal at £880m plus aditional capital funding. It says there are four times as many children eligible for the 30 hours in England than in Scotland
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