We are committed to the national social mobility agenda and are concerned that NAO report of March 2016 Entitlement to free early education and child care indicates that over 40% of eligible families do not take up their entitlement.

We believe that entitlement to passported benefits such as this should not require the claimant to make a separate application but that automatic registration should follow. The NAO report suggests that awareness of entitlement is an issue.

Read the full response here.