This event took place on Tuesday 10 October. You can watch the recording below.

Two-fifths of the disadvantage gap seen in GCSE results is present by age 5. Labour’s commitment to “break down the barriers to opportunity for every child, at every stage” is an admirable one, but what trade-offs must be made to make this a reality?

Would boosting payments via the benefits system make the difference we assume it would? What does the latest research on cash transfers tell us? Or would public funds be better spent on building strong public services for families? Should Labour guarantee every child has access to affordable and high-quality early education and childcare? And if so, how do we overcome existing challenges in the sector to make that happen? 

In this session, we were joined by a panel of experts to discuss which of these options gives the biggest bang for buck when it comes to narrowing the outcome gap between children growing up in a disadvantage and the national average.