The Labour Government has announced a £52 million package to tackle the communication problems that can blight children's lives.

The funding come as an independent review by John Bercow, Conservative MP for Buckingham, is published.

The review, which was commissioned by Government, identifies that communication is the key life skill for every child - if they are to achieve at school, make friends and be successful in later life.

The review looks in depth at how to improve services for children and young people with problems ranging from severe speech and language impairments to a vocabulary limited by social reasons, such as a family background where communication between family members is limited.

The Labour Government are also announcing a £40 million programme that will enable those working with pre-school children, for example nursery staff, to access training and materials to support young children's early language development. The Let's Talk programme will support early years staff to develop children's speaking and listening skills, and will help to spot those children with problems at an early age.

Labour's Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls said:

"It's clear that local services need to improve, and I'm grateful to John Bercow for providing such a comprehensive set of conclusions and recommendations. I'm convinced we can now begin to make significant improvements for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs.

"There is already money in the system to make some of these improvements - the challenge is to make sure it is being used properly. We will also contribute £12 million nationally to make sure the recommendations can be taken forward quickly, as well as £40 million for pre-school children, and we will publish a detailed action plan in the Autumn."

Labour's Health Secretary Alan Johnson said:

"Speech, language and communication are fundamental aspects of a child's health and well-being. Over the last 10 years, we have increased the number of therapists by over 38% and improved access to professional programmes to help children overcome early speech problems.

"But we recognise more needs to be done. Today's report will support commissioners in their role of identifying local need and buying appropriate services to ensure that help in communicating it is available when it is needed.