Portsmouth City Council, which is currently funded below the national average, will receive an uplift of 32p per hour on average existing rates for the free entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds.
This is the maximum hourly rate the Government will provide to pilot local authorities currently funded at below national average levels, and it is being passed on in full to providers. Only Newham, an early implementer London borough with historically higher levels of funding, has confirmed it is paying more at £5.17 per hour.
The news comes after Tops Day Nurseries, which has a nursery in Portsmouth, launched a petition calling for an urgent review of funding for the three- and four-year-old free entitlement, after losing more than 10 per cent on the hourly rate at one of its settings. The petition has now amassed nearly 28,000 signatures.
Managing director Cheryl Hadland said, ‘This is a good result. £5 would have been better but this rate will solve quite a few problems, it is higher than other rates in the area, and indeed is the highest rate we have seen from any of our local authorities.’
‘I have no evidence that the increase is a result of our petition or meetings, but I’d like to think they have helped focus politician and civil service minds on their unreasonable and disrespectful expectations of the sector.’
The increased rate came about following the DfE asking councils to review and update how much funding they allocate to early years. The DfE said, in a letter to the council, that 'this has given us a more up-to-date picture of how much funding is needed by local authorities to deliver the extended entitlement.’
Like in other pilot areas, the council is passing on the full funding without taking any off as the DfE has provided extra funding to allow it meet the overheads associated with delivering the 30 hours.
The £4.88 rate was also the amount announced by the Government as the average rate to be given to local authorities when the 30 hours policy is fully implemented next year.
The amount settings receive is likely to be less, as this is the pre-topslicing rate, and includes the EYPP, which not all settings will be able to claim.
Portsmouth City Council has committed to providing a minimum of 415 places in pilot, which starts in September.
