The Unicef report is based on some bold assertions and sweeping generalisations, not all of which stand up to close scrutiny. The authors admit that the ten benchmarks used to measure the quality of childcare policies across 25 countries are not always the same. They talk of the inevitable “crudeness” of the comparisons, brought about by the limited nature of data from different countries. Some data for Britain, for example, refers to children using free early-childhood education centres for 2½ hours a day for nine months of the year; for Sweden the data refers to full working-day services for 11 months of the year.

Some information is out of date. The report gives the percentage of GDP spent on early-years care and other childcare in Britain as 0.5 per cent, based on 2003 figures. In fact it is now nearer 1 per cent.

Informal childcare, by grandparents, friends and neighbours, is not measured. Nor is care by unregistered minders such as au pairs and nannies.

The report also omits the latest analysis of the Sure Start scheme, which provides support for the under5s. The national evaluation team monitoring 9,000 Sure Start families in 150 areas has found improvements in everything from literacy to obesity, from behaviour to safety.

Despite those limitations, Unicef defends the report, saying that it represents “an initial step” towards an international system of monitoring early-years care.

It emphasises that the report aims to raise public awareness of the issues so that parents and governments can be better informed about the decisions they take regarding early-years care.

Where the report has failed spectacularly, however, is in the omission of any specific reference to the role of men in childcare. It refers pointedly throughout to “parents”, not just mothers, and includes parental and paternity leave, not just maternity leave.

But nowhere does it dig beneath the surface to explore the possibility that actively involving fathers more in childcare might produce better results all round, for families and the economy. Nowhere does it say out loud that this is a man’s issue too.

That has been a perennial weakness in the public and political debate ever since childcare became a matter of public policy, and Unicef’s failure to tackle it is disappointing.