THOUSANDS of poorer two-year-olds across the region are missing out on free nursery places, official figures show.

Less than two-thirds of eligible toddlers have taken up the 15 hours of childcare each week - introduced last September - in many areas.

In contrast, almost all three and four-year-olds are enjoying their free hours, ahead of a promised expansion to 30 hours each week by the new Conservative government.

Campaigners blamed the much lower figures for two-year-olds on chronic underfunding, which meant many nurseries were turning away young children.

On average, nurseries were setting aside only 11 Government-funded places for two-year-olds and “only a small number” were planning to expand their offers.

But the Department for Education (DfE) said it was relaxed about a lower take-up, arguing its priority was to expand the free hours for older pre-school children.

A spokesman said: “It is not for us to say if the parents of two-year-olds should use childcare and we are not saying they are bad parents if they choose not to.”

A £100 million scheme extended free childcare to the 40 per cent most deprived two-year-olds from last September – including around 13,000 across the North-East and North Yorkshire.

But the Dfe statistics show only 8,499 of those two-year-olds – under 65 per cent – are receiving their 15 hours a week, for 38 weeks.

When the policy was introduced, councils were advised to provide enough spaces for at least 80 per cent of eligible children,

Take-up ranges from just 57 per cent in Darlington and 59 per cent in Stockton-on-Tees and Sunderland to 76 per cent in Newcastle.

But almost all three and four-year-olds are receiving their free 15 hours, with Redcar and Cleveland and Sunderland recording figures above 100 per cent, because of children crossing council boundaries.

The National Day Nurseries Association warned: “Many nurseries are limiting the number of free places for two-year-olds they offer, because current funding levels do not cover the cost of high-quality care.

“For nurseries to offer more such places, Government funding levels must rise to meet, not only the day-to-day cost of learning and care, but also the development of the sector workforce.”

But the Dfe spokesman said the numbers of two-year-olds in free childcare had “increased significantly”, adding: “It’s there if parents want it.

“But we know there is less of an appetite than for three and four-year-olds, so the two sets of figures are not comparable.”

Caroline O’Neill, Durham County Council’s head of education, said it believed take-up had risen to 73 per cent since the Dfe figures were published.

She said: “It is often the case in areas where there are large numbers of eligible children – including County Durham – that it takes time for the required number of places to be created.”