Nursery World - Opinion: Editor's view - Unpaid fees are just adding to sustainability woes at some nurseries

The system of tax credits to help parents pay for childcare has been beset by problems of fraud and misuse since it started, but there are now signs that the current economic conditions will lead to an escalation in unpaid fees that could seriously threaten nurseries' viability.

Nurseries in Liverpool have resorted to alerting each other about miscreant parents who leave owing thousands of pounds in fees (see News, page 4). As one nursery owner says, 'For some people, we seem to come somewhere below the cat litter in their list of priorities.' And on Nursery World's website forum, you can see a series of postings from nursery owners and managers who are owed substantial sums of money by parents who seem to feel that they do not have to pay their child's nursery fees, sometimes encouraged by the tax credit system. One owner relates how she went to the small claims court to recover £500 and the parent was allowed to pay it back in portions of £1.90 a month - '26 years to clear it!!'

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