Following the launch of the Children's Workforce Strategy last week, the DfES confirmed that only nurseries charging 175 or less would be eligible for the 3,000 incentive to recruit graduates and the quality premium of up to 5,000 to improve the qualifications of non-graduates. A DfES spokesman said the cap on fees, which applies nationally, aimed to prevent any impact on affordability.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said nurseries in some areas would have to weigh up whether they could participate.
Given the financial pressures created by large business rate increases, she said, she doubted whether it would be viable for those in and around London to cap their fees. 'It's a bit unfair. It's a bit like the London weighting allowance on jobs. The equation doesn't balance out with the rest of the country, where fees may be lower,' she said.
Alan Bentley, chairman of the Childcare Corporation, said, 'The 175 cap can never work in London and its immediate surrounding areas. We opened up a nursery seven months ago in London and had to carry out a competitive survey on price and so we are charging 250 a week for full-time babies.'
Jane Haywood, chief executive of the Children's Workforce Development Council, said it would be 'a question of suck it and see'. But she emphasised that no-one wanted 'a perverse outcome' - Government policy resulting in settings in the south-east not having access to support for training.
'If it really has a bad impact on training and investment then we have to raise that with the Government, but we first have to see how it works and what impact it has on people,' she said.
* See Special Report, page 10
