Nursery World - Private sector: Feeling the squeeze (1)

Is the Government over-stocking the pool of childcare places and making it harder for private providers to survive? Simon Vevers reports

When Margaret Hodge addresses a conference in September on the role of the private sector in early years and childcare, her speech will be scrutinised by hard-pressed private nursery providers who fear their viability is increasingly threatened by a plethora of Government initiatives.

The Minister for Children emphasised her commitment to working with the private sector when she spoke at the annual conference of the National Day Nurseries Association. But the NDNA is gathering plenty of evidence from its own members that Sure Start projects, often sited close to existing private providers, are luring away their staff with better salaries and hitting occupancy levels by creating too much provision in some areas.

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