Kate Middleton’s report about the early years is a welcome insight into the struggles parents have faced during lockdown

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The Duchess of Cambridge has published a report about the importance of the early years (Kensington Palace)

The Duchess of Cambridge’s report about the early years has revealed that parents underestimate the importance of early years development. The government showed that it does too; the spending review this week outlined £44m funding, a clear decrease from £66m the previous year. This is not enough to ensure the survival of early years settings.  

We welcome the duchess’s report and firmly believe there must be more focus on early years. Early years education is often cast aside and deemed less important than the education of older children, despite there being clear evidence that these are vital years in children’s development. We hope this will raise public interest and understanding of the importance of early years.  

The report also gave insight into the struggles parents have been facing during lockdown. This chimes with research undertaken by the Montessori Group, which revealed 54 per cent of parents fear they are failing their child, despite 41 per cent of young children stating the best thing about lockdown has been spending more time with their parents.

The launch of the International Montessori Institute at Leeds Beckett University this year is a key step in grounding early years education as a fundamental part of the current education system and will help professionalise a sector that we know to be absolutely vital in “building back better”.

Leonor Stjepic, CEO, The Montessori Group

Christmas confusion

Boris Johnson is warning that if we ease off on restrictions from 2 December, we will have to go back into national lockdown in January.

But that’s exactly what we are doing with the Christmas amnesty. The gains we have made in the November lockdown will be lost. There doesn’t seem to be any coherent consistency in the government’s rules.

I would love to be with my children and grandchildren at Christmas but it seems madness to do so.

Suzie Taylor

Gloucestershire 

UK will regret cutting overseas aid budget

The cut in the overseas aid budget to 0.5 per cent of national income, as announced in the spending review ('Foreign aid budget cut to 0.5 per cent of GDP with no end date set’, 25 November), is shameful and a move the UK will go on to bitterly regret.

This is devastating news for the poorest people in the world and breaks the Conservative election manifesto pledge of 0.7 per cent, which it should be remembered is also enshrined in law.

Such a cut is simply bad economics and will end up costing more than it saves, and is bad foreign policy that reduces Britain’s influence and makes us poorer in the eyes of the world. Meanwhile, Mr Johnson has committed to an increase in defence spending he claims as being worth £16.5bn in new money over four years.

Such a move clearly shows the right wing in the Tory party is well and truly in the ascendancy, putting military hardware ahead of helping the world’s poorest. While chancellor Rishi Sunak may claim that this overseas aid cut is temporary, one should remember that income tax was only intended to be a temporary measure, and that was in 1799.

Alex Orr

Edinburgh

Reality bites

As a child I remember hearing the novelty Christmas song, “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”.

May I suggest that this Christmas it may be more appropriate if our politicians wished to have some wisdom teeth fitted.

 Carole Slater

Address supplied

So much more than a footballer

The sad demise of legendary footballer Diego Maradona is untimely and agonising to say the least. 

More than being a football genius, he was also a tactical activist who strove for political and social justice, for the amelioration of human rights conditions, and for democracy and the welfare of common people over the greed and selfishness of corporations and deep-rooted and systemic corruption of Fifa. What helped him was a Latin American history drenched in a poignant history of colonialism and slavery, and an avid desire on his part to not turn his back on his poor background.

He left behind myriad memories for us all to cherish.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London NW2

Time to overhaul voting system

I take issue with Paul Morrison’s assertion that “we all voted for this lot” (Letters, 27 November), presumably referring to the Tories.

Only 43 per cent did. It is time the voting system had an overhaul.

Ken Simmons

Bristol