But Kensington Palace has stressed this doesn't signal a return to work for the Princess of Wales.
The Princess of Wales is ‘excited’ by a new report highlighting the economic benefits of prioritising early childhood.
Last year Kate Middleton launched her ‘life’s work’, a campaign called Shaping Us which highlights the importance of the first five years of a child’s life.
Kensington Palace has stressed that the princess has not returned to work, as she is still undergoing treatment for cancer, but said that Kate is being kept up to date throughout the process.
Despite her cancer diagnosis she has been following the work of the Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood.
Christian Guy, executive director of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, briefed Kate on the new report and said she was ‘excited’ by the document.
He said: ‘Shaping Us was about awareness but also for her it’s so important to have action.
‘So to have eight of the most significant businesses in Britain come forward, make the case to their fellow business leaders is vital – it’s exciting for her and it’s a priority going forward for our centre’s work.
‘This is another crucial moment for Her Royal Highness’ early childhood work because its impact, and the work of her Centre for Early Childhood, is rolling on as she recovers.’
Its new report recommends a range of interventions, from creating a culture inside and outside firms that prioritises childhood, to supporting parents with greater resources and flexibility in the workplace.
The chief executives of Ikea, NatWest Group and Deloitte are some of the taskforce’s eight members – and their report highlights how the nation could benefit from an estimated £45.5billion.
The princess has been working to raise the profile of the early years development of children for some years and established her centre in 2021 as part of the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: ‘Early childhood is a huge priority for the Princess of Wales, and she has been kept fully up to date throughout the process and the development of the task force’s work and she has seen the report.’
The report suggests the potential billions of pounds of benefits could be achieved by equipping youngsters with social and emotional skills, supporting parents wanting to return to work, and reducing the need to spend public funds on those who experienced difficult childhoods which might have been avoided through preventative action in early childhood.
Emma Franklin, a director of consulting with Deloitte which produced the taskforce’s report, said that by ‘investing in social and emotional skills for the under-fives’, known as ‘soft skills’ and associated with resilience, problem solving and empathy, ‘we could see a productivity gain of about £12.2billion over the course of a generation’.
She added: ‘Then we also look at the opportunity to encourage parents and caregivers to get back into the workforce if they had access to more suitable childcare opportunities, and that figure comes in at around £17.2billion.
‘Finally, we look at the public expenditure currently around mitigating adverse childhood experiences, so children that suffer from neglect and abuse, and if we were able to reduce some of that it comes in around £16.1billion and the three figure total together equates to a £45.5billion net gain for the UK economy.’
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