CYP Now - Childcare spending suffers real-terms cut in quarter of local authorities

Childcare funding has suffered a real-terms cut in more than a quarter of local authorities in England over the past five years despite additional government funding, an investigation has found.

A freedom of information request to local authorities by the Pre-school Learning Alliance found that 28 per cent of council areas that responded to a survey said their average local early years funding rates for private and voluntary providers had risen by less than the rate of inflation, a real-terms cut, between 2012/13 and 2017/18.

Of the 352 local authorities in England that were approached, 112 responded, with 31 declaring that rates had risen by less than the rate of inflation over the five-year period of 7.6 per cent.

A total of six councils reported a fall in their rates over the period even before inflation was taken into account.

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