Nursery World - Care agencies face huge bills to register (1)

Childcare agencies in Scotland employing more than three full-time staff will have to pay more than 2,500 by the end of September to register with the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care. The Care Commission's proposed fees were condemned by nanny agencies when they were put forward in a consultation at the beginning of the year.

The Care Commission's proposed fees were condemned by nanny agencies when they were put forward in a consultation at the beginning of the year.

Margaret Davidson, who runs Iona's childcare agency in Edinburgh, said the fees were 'absolutely ridiculous' and warned that the combination of increased regulation and fees would be a 'huge burden' that might reduce the number of agencies, leading to an increase in the use of unregistered childcare. She suggested that the Care Commission was 'out of touch' and had not researched nanny agencies' levels of profitability (News, 23 January 2003).

Despite agencies' concerns, the Commission has pushed ahead with the proposed fees, outlined in a table in its most recent newsletter, available on www.carecommission.com.

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