The Public Accounts Committee report into the entitlement to free early years education and childcare said today that it would be ‘a grave mistake’ to extend the policy and calls for the Department for Education to respond swiftly to its concerns.
It cites reports from private and voluntary providers that gave evidence to the committee that the amount they currently get paid does not cover their costs and they therefore rely on charging parents for extra hours.
It says that there is a risk that providers will choose not to offer the extra hours because doing so will leave them unable to charge parents for hours outside of their entitlement.
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