Nursery World - Funding for childcare places has dropped in more than 50 local authorities since April

Funding for two-year-old places is lower in 57 council areas than it was last September, according to an analysis of funding rates by the National Day Nurseries Association, which also warns that Government funding ‘is not reaching the frontline’.

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The research shows that 85 per cent of the councils NDNA could analyse are not passing on the full uplift from the Department for Education.

At the same time, 20 councils have had their funding rates cut centrally by the DfE.

The NDNA analysed 119 local authority base rates for the two-, three- and four-year-old funded places, and found that in 66 local authorities the increase in funding given to providers for three- and four-year-old places was lower than the uplift provided to the council by the DfE.

Councils can currently retain up to 5 per cent of the hourly rates for children in their area to fund administration and give extra support to providers, ie. they should be passing on at least 95 per cent of the funding they receive from central government.

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