Research underway
We have an exciting programme of work for 2012 and will be publishing research into childcare, skills, savings policy, and the financial resilience of low income households. For more information on these projects, or to find out how you can support our research programme, contact Nigel Keohane.
Funding childcare
High-quality childcare improves children's development and supports parental employment, leading to higher educational standards and more economic prosperity. But childcare costs are on the rise. As our recent report The Parent Trap showed, by 2016 parents on low incomes will need to find over 6% more of their own cash for childcare compared with 2006.
In the context of continued austerity and the reality of the public deficit, the prospect of universal childcare provision funded by the Treasury remains unlikely. The SMF is working to develop a radical new proposal that will enable all parents to afford the childcare they need without crippling the public finances. This project, sponsored by the Esmee Fairbarn Foundation, will be launched in February 2012.
Improving adult skills
Skills are one of the key building blocks for economic growth and prosperity and a major component in combating social exclusion and achieving greater social mobility. The attainment of skills and their effective use are widely seen as key policy goals for the UK government and they matter even more in the new global economy that is emerging around us.
But skills have long been one of the UK’s Achilles heels. The UK is ranked in the bottom half of the OECD league table for skills, with around one third of adults lacking a good school leaving qualification, more than double the proportion in the US, Canada and Sweden.
The SMF will shortly be publishing a major review of the adult skills market, examining the reasons for continued market failure and proposing an innovative way forward.
