'Free must mean free' when it comes to childcare, ombudsman says
Joe Lepper
Thursday, January 28, 2021
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has called for councils to ensure greater transparency over free early years places.
The call comes after the watchdog criticised a Leicestershire nursery chain for charging parents a “top-up fee” for parents of children entitled to free hours.
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Currently all three-to four-year-olds in England are entitled to 15 hours a week free childcare, which rises to 30 hours for children of the same age of working parents.
But the ombudsman found that Kiddi Caru nursery in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, was charging parents the difference between the amount they were being paid by Leicestershire County Council for the places and the amount they charged private customers.
The ombudsman's investigation follows a complaint raised by a parent who said he was paying an extra £1.08 an hour for 30 hours “that should have been free”, said the ombudsman. Over a year the family involved in the complaint were found to have been overcharged by around £900.
Leicestershire County Council is rebuked by the ombudsman for not having “sufficient oversight” of the charges, despite auditing the nursery chain. The council was also criticised for failing to work with the nursery to ensure its financial paperwork was transparent.
The ombudsman Michael King said it is the responsibility of all councils to ensure that “free must mean free” regarding early years entitlements.
“While I acknowledge local authorities - and the early years sector - are struggling financially, the government's intentions have always been that these places are provided free of charge to parents, and it is up to local authorities to administer them accordingly,” he said.
“Guidance states that councils should work with providers to ensure invoices are clear, transparent and itemised.”
He added: “We are concerned that local authorities may not be delivering on the government’s pledge to parents, so I would urge other councils across the country to check their processes to ensure providers in their area are not making the same errors.”
National Day Nurseries Association chief executive Purnima Tanuku said that providers are allowed to charge for additional items incurred in caring for children such as nappies.
She added that the rates for free hours being paid by the government do not cover costs, leaving providers and parents to pick up the cost.
“Early years providers offer a wide range of services and options to parents depending on their individual circumstance,” she said.
“As a result there is not a one size fits all approach to costs for services that are being delivered. Providers can charge for additional consumable items, food, nappies and activities which may be covered by parental agreements.
“We would always advise providers to be very clear in their communications to parents about any additional costs.
“Nurseries are working hard to give children access to high quality early years educational opportunities. However, since the funded hours policy was brought in we have been providing evidence that the rates paid to, and by, local authorities do not cover the actual costs of delivering these places. The funding rates have never kept pace with National Minimum Wage increases and other rising business costs.
“The places aren’t ‘free’ because the hourly rate provided by government does not cover the full cost of the delivery. In the end it is parents and providers who pay the price of chronic underfunding to the sector.”