Last month, parents launched individual campaigns to save the eight nurseries Bright Horizons operates for HMRC. Run in partnership with management company Mapeley,which owns the buildings, they are due to close at the end of November.
The settings, most of which are rated good or outstanding, are open to the community as well as HMRC employees.
Bright Horizions says that it approached HMRC and Mapeley to continue to operate the nurseries on a leasehold basis but failed to obtain an agreement. The nursery group also looked into relocating the settings in all locations but they were unable to find any viable solutions.
Parents have started a Facebook group - 'Save HMRC Nurseries’, and a petition, which now has more than 2,200 signatures, to challenge the closure and claims made by HMRC that the majority of places at the nurseries are not taken up by children of HMRC staff.
The nurseries are: Cheeky Cherubs in Manchester; Deansgate Nursery in Wolverhampton; Nippers Nursery in Leicestershire; Peter Bennett Nursery in Leeds; Castle Meadow Day Nursery in Nottingham; Chaucers Walk in Blackburn, Lancashire; First Friends Nursery in Cardiff; and Hector’s House Nursery in East Kilbride, Glasgow.
Over the weekend, parents held protests outside the nurseries in Leicester, Cardiff (pictured) and East Kilbride.
Their campaigns have now received the backing of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) and support of local MPs from across the political spectrum - Jonathan Evans the Conservative MP for Cardiff North; Michael McCann, Labour MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow; and Greg Mulholland, the Liberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West.
Campaigns are also thought to be gathering pace in Leeds and Nottingham.
Natasha Sheldon, a parent who works at HMRC in Leicester and started the online petition and campaign’s Facebook group, said, ‘The setting in Leicester, Nippers Nursery, is a great asset and closing it will not only affect parents and staff, but have a detrimental effect on HMRC.
‘Nippers Nursery is at full capacity and they have even had to turn people away now that the setting is closing. All the people I know in my office who have children use the nursery.’
Ms Sheldon went on to say that although there are number of other nurseries in the city of Leicester they are not as convenient as Nippers Nursery, which is on the grounds of the HMRC offices. They also charge higher fees and because of their location parking would be an issue.
She added that the new nursery she has enrolled her child at takes her thirty minutes to get to from work which will make it more difficult if there is ever a problem and she needs to get to the nursery quickly.
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of PCS, said, ‘HMRC has already acknowledged that the decision to close the nurseries should have been better handled, but we would like them to go further and reverse the plans.
‘Not only does the decision and the way it was handled raise serious concerns about the department’s attitude to family-friendly policies, it threatens nursery workers’ jobs and would force families to try to find childcare of the same standard and affordability, and that ‘s proving very difficult.
‘We will continue to campaign on this, as it’s a very important issue to our members and workers from outside the civil service who use the nurseries.’
HMRC's response
An HMRC spokesperson said, ‘The nurseries are not run by HMRC but a company called Bright Horizons, so the decision to close these nurseries rather than relocate them is one for them.
‘Due to a decline in staff demand, HMRC has decided not to re-tender the contract covering the accommodation for the nurseries. Furthermore, HMRC has a responsibility to treat all staff fairly, so has decided the fairest way to help with childcare for all staff is to provide childcare vouchers to those eligible.'
Bright Horizons' response
A spokesperson for Bright Horizons said, ‘We have been managing the eight nurseries for many years on behalf of HMRC under contract with facilities management company Mapeley. The decision to close the nurseries was made by HMRC and communicated to Bright Horizons and Mapeley at the end of May. The contract contained an option of a further year and Bright Horizons would have taken up the option of another year to the contract if this had been made available but it was not.’
