London councils 'named' for low take-up of twos offer

London councils make up nine of the ten authorities with the lowest take-up of the two-year-old offer, with 22,000 children across the capital missing out on the free hours. Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Lewisham were at the bottom of the table.

Some London boroughs have a much higher take-up, however, including Richmond (80.6 per cent), Barking and Dagenham (72.3 per cent) and Bromley (71.8 per cent).

The Government criticised councils it said were ‘underperforming’ despite £153m to deliver the places and £23m to support expansion.

Childcare Minister Sam Gyimah said, ‘We are raising the bar and expecting more from local authorities to help children and families access this life-changing offer of free childcare.

‘While it’s great that around 22,500 two-year-olds in London are receiving their entitled hours, we are working closely with London councils to make sure every eligible child is able to benefit from their entitlement.

‘We will continue to praise local authorities who are doing a great job in delivering free childcare for the most disadvantaged two-year-olds, but will not shy away from naming those who are under-performing.’

The figures were supplied by local authorities in December 2014, three months after the two-year-old scheme was expanded to include the 40 per cent most disadvantaged two-year-olds.

Local authorities with the lowest percentage take-up of the 2 year old entitlement in England