LGA responds to All-Party Parliamentary Group report on Childcare and Early Education

Responding to an All-Party Parliamentary Group report on Childcare and Early Education, which has found nurseries in poor areas face potential closure, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said:

“Research shows that effective, high-quality early years provision makes a real difference to young children, helping to break the cycle of disadvantage, improving social mobility and offering them a good start in life.

“Recent changes to early years provision, including the 30 hours free childcare scheme for working families, are a positive step. However, we have repeatedly raised concerns that the funding rates are insufficient and this is risking both the sustainability of many providers and the quality of provision.

“We have particular concerns around provision for disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and disabilities if funding rates continue to fall below the cost of delivering services.

“We also have concerns that supplementary funding for maintained nursery schools, which are concentrated in areas of high deprivation and have higher running costs than other nursery provision, ends in 2020 and the government has yet to announce what will happen beyond that. Without a sustainable funding solution, many are likely to close. 

“It is vital that early years providers are properly funded to allow them to deliver the high quality childcare that gives children the best start in life.”

Notes to editors

Councils in England face an overall funding gap of £8 billion by 2025. The LGA’s #CouncilsCan campaign aims to influence the forthcoming Spending Review and highlight the growing risk to vital local services if the Government does not take action to secure the financial sustainability of councils. Visit our campaign page for more information.