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Government delays in confirming funding rates for the new one- and two-year-old early entitlement offers are putting the entire policy at risk, leading early years organisation the Early Years Alliance has warned.

Back in July, the Department for Education (DfE) published a consultation on how the new early entitlement offers for one- and two-year-olds would be funded. However, despite closing in September, the response to this consultation has still not been published.

As a result, local councils have still not had confirmation on what funding rates they will receive for the new schemes and in turn, nurseries, pre-schools and childminders still don't know the funding rates they will receive to deliver places – despite the fact that the new offer is due to start rolling out in April.

In an open letter to the chancellor, education secretary and children and families minister, Alliance CEO Neil Leitch wrote:
 

To the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Education and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families,

I am writing as CEO of the Early Years Alliance, the largest early years membership organisation in England, with regards to the upcoming rollout of the early entitlement offer to children aged nine months to two years old.

As you will be aware, the early years sector has expressed serious concerns about the viability of this policy and its potential impact on providers if not funded adequately – concerns that were significantly exacerbated by the fact that the upcoming increase in the national living and minimum wage has not been matched by a comparable rise in early years funding.

I am writing to you today, however, with a more time-sensitive matter of concern. Despite the fact that the start of the phased rollout of the new offers is less than five months away, the sector has yet to receive confirmation of how these schemes will be funded, even though the consultation on this topic closed more than two months ago.

As a result, final local authority rates for the new offers have still not been published, further delaying the process of confirming rates for frontline providers. This is making it near-impossible for settings to budget or plan for this policy – or in some cases, make a decision on whether they will opt into the schemes at all.

This is a flagship government policy that has been heavily promoted, and expectations among families are high. Many providers are receiving a high volume of inquiries from parents keen to register their children for the new offers – parents who are then incredibly frustrated when settings explain that they are unable to commit to offering places without further information from the government.

What the government is asking of providers is no small thing: to deliver one of the biggest expansions the sector has seen in the midst of a recruitment and retention crisis and on the back of years of underfunding. The very least ministers could do is provide the basic information needed to help providers understand if it is possible for them to do so.

The current situation is simply not acceptable. As such, I urge Department for Education and Treasury colleagues to ensure that this information is provided to the sector without further delay.

I would be happy to meet to discuss the contents of this letter, and the sector’s wider concerns regarding the extended offer, with you all further.

With kind regards,

Neil Leitch

CEO of the Early Years Alliance