Princess Kate updated on major £45.5 billion report as rallying call issued to UK

The Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood has today published a report setting out the business case for prioritising early childhood.

It details how investing in early childhood could generate at least £45.5 billion in value added to the UK economy each year.

This includes £12.2bn from equipping people with improved social and emotional skills in early childhood, £16.1bn from reducing the need to spend public funds on remedial steps for adverse childhood experiences and £17.2bn from supporting parents and caregivers of under-fives who work.

Princess Catherine launched the Business Taskforce for Early Childhood, in March 2023, to discuss how business can play its part in changing the way early childhood is viewed and prioritised across society.

The royal's goal was to create a bridge between evidence produced by the scientific community and UK businesses.

Kate wants to use this bridge to encourage businesses to play a key role in changing attitudes towards early childhood and emotional development within their organisations and across their networks.

A Kensington Palace spokesperson said: "Early childhood is a huge priority for the princess and so she has been kept fully updated throughout the development of the Taskforce’s work and she has seen the report."

Despite monitoring the report, the Princess of Wales will not be returning to work in the short-term as the royal continues to focus on her health.

Princess Catherine announced in March that she had undergone preventative chemotherapy after cancer was found in tests following a significant abdominal surgery earlier this year.

The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood wants to increase the focus given to the core social and emotional skills that we all need to thrive in life, sometimes referred to as 'soft skills'.

Setting people up with these soft skills, starting in early childhood, is a key priority for the Princess of Wales.

Christian Guy, Executive Director of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood said regarding the report: "There is such enormous potential. We urge all businesses, no matter what their shape or size, to join us – the eight founding members, the Centre for Early Childhood, and The Princess - to help transform the way our country supports the vital early years."

The eight Taskforce members are: Aviva, The Co-operative Group, Deloitte, Iceland Foods, Ikea UK and Ireland, The LEGO Group, NatWest Group and Unilever UK.

The Princess of Wales is "enormously grateful" to the members of the Taskforce for the progress they have within the last 14 months.

Kate feels passionately about the transformational impact of "getting this right together" both for the current generation and for many more to come.

The royal is keen to encourage all businesses, no matter what their size or purpose, to join us on this journey.

Kate is looking forward to "seeing momentum grow" in the coming months.

The statement said: "Last year, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales brought us together.

"She asked us to think radically about our approach to early childhood and the golden opportunity it presents to transform the lives of children today, as well as their future life outcomes.

"Since then, our organisations have come together to share our knowledge and experience, as well as deepen our own understanding of the importance of early childhood development, to establish this comprehensive and compelling business case for change.

"If we get this right, the results for business, for the economy and for society are clear for all to see: a happier, more productive workforce today; a future workforce equipped with the skills needed to deal with all the complexity and challenges of the modern world, and £45.5 billion in value added for the national economy each year.

"As leaders of some of the UK’s largest businesses, we have a responsibility, but also a very clear vested interest in driving change in this area. We hope this report will encourage businesses of all sizes, across the UK, to join us and help build a healthy, happy society for everyone."