At the same time, the uneasy relationship between the public andindependent sectors appears to be boiling over in a few places such asBarnsley, where one chain of private nurseries is threatening to takethe council to court, accusing it of unfairly denying the private sectorany chance to get involved in the development of children's centres (seeNews, p 2). It's just the sort of scenario feared by the Pre-SchoolLearning Alliance when it called for an independent watchdog to ensurethat councils give the independent sector a fair go in the provision oflocal services.
However, it is easy for businesses to blame the Government when they arein trouble. Any full explanation would have to take into account factorssuch as the rush of investment that saw private daycare provision growby 17 per cent in 2004 and 12 per cent in 2003, before the children'scentre and extended schools programmes really got under way. Accordingto a study by market researchers Laing & Buisson, despite day nurseriesbeing only three quarters full in 2005, prices rose by 4.3 per cent,well above inflation. So the reality is that private nurseries could besuffering as much from competition between themselves as much as fromany publicly funded programme.
That gives no room for local authorities to be complacent, however.Whatever the underlying economic reasons, one of the biggest challengesfacing childcare provision is sustainability. It makes no sense spendingmoney simply to displace existing provision. The Childcare Billcurrently before Parliament stipulates that local authorities mustconduct proper childcare audits and work with existing providers beforecreating new places. But in some areas where children's centredevelopment is already well under way, it may be too late.
