Gordon Brown 'facing £455m deficit in childcare plan'

Gordon Brown is facing a £455 million "black hole" in his plan to provide free childcare to two-year-olds from poor families, the Tories claim.

Ministers intended to fund the measure by scrapping childcare vouchers for middle-class parents, worth £2,400 per couple.

But the Prime Minister was forced to reconsider the move amid opposition from Labour MPs.

Shadow Families Minister Maria Miller said the Government would have to raise an extra £120 million to afford free nursery places for 250,000 two-year-olds even before the "U-turn" on vouchers.

The decision not to scrap vouchers leaves the plans down another £335 million, creating a shortfall of £455 million, she added.

Ms Miller told the Standard: "Despite the rhetoric about being family-friendly, all we seem to get is underfunded policies and U-turns."

A Treasury spokesman said: "The plans will be revenue neutral and any suggestion of a shortfall is wrong."