Lib Dems will invest in early years

8.00.00pm GMT Tue 18th Jan 2005

The Liberal Democrats are campaigning to scrap the government's Child Trust Fund scheme, instead pledging to spend the money on investment in early years education, reducing class sizes for 5-7 year old children to twenty.

Mr Kennedy said:

"If we are serious about putting our children first; if we are serious about improving nursery and early years education; if we are serious about investing in the fantastic work of early years centres; then we must be prepared to make tough choices when it comes to the allocation of Government funds."

"Tough choices mean looking carefully at the money being spent on our children and choosing to spend it more effectively, rather than wasting it. As a society, Britain cannot afford to postpone investing in our children. That is why my party is strongly opposed to the Child Trust Fund Scheme launched by the Government on Tuesday."

"The Government is set to spend around ¼ of a billion pounds of taxpayer's money every year in support of this scheme. Superficially it may sound attractive but ask yourself what would you have done if you had been handed £500 by the state at the age of 18? Would you consider this to be a good use of taxpayer's money?"

"For those who choose to go to university it is a particularly hollow gesture as the Government will give them a few hundred pounds in cash and at the same time a mortgage-style bill in tuition fees."

"We believe that it would be more farsighted to spend the billion pounds or more which is set aside in the Child Trust Fund to reduce class sizes to 20 for 5 to 7 year olds, than giving 18 year olds a bit of cash."