Nursery World - Hughes queries spending

Children's minister Beverley Hughes is writing to all local authority chief executives this week to ask them how they are apportioning money to early years and childcare providers. Speaking at the National Day Nurseries Association conference in London last week, Ms Hughes said that although she believed the Government's 3bn funding to local authorities, and the extra 82m to support the extension of the nursery education grant to 38 weeks, was 'sufficient' to give all parents free entitlement, she wanted to look at how different areas were distributing money 'between early years and school-aged children and between different sectors in the early years'.

Speaking at the National Day Nurseries Association conference in London last week, Ms Hughes said that although she believed the Government's 3bn funding to local authorities, and the extra 82m to support the extension of the nursery education grant to 38 weeks, was 'sufficient' to give all parents free entitlement, she wanted to look at how different areas were distributing money 'between early years and school-aged children and between different sectors in the early years'.

Ms Hughes again refused to back down on the controversial ban on nurseries charging top-up fees.

She reiterated that 'parents should not be charged in any way' for the entitlement to nursery education, because it risked creating 'a two-tier system' that would put some nurseries beyond the means of some disadvantaged parents.

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