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Public Accounts Committee report highlights 30-hour concerns

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Jun 15, 2016
There may be insufficient providers willing to roll out the 30-hour free entitlement scheme next year to meet demand from working families, the Public Accounts Committee has warned in a new report.
 
The Committee, which is responsible for scrutinising the value for money of public spending conducts an inquiry into the free entitlement offer earlier this year, also raised concerns that the government will have little time to evaluate the results of the 30-hour pilots, due to begin in September. During an oral evidence session, representatives from the Department for Education (DfE) admitted that they did not know when the findings of the pilots were likely to be published.
 
Commenting on the report’s findings, Meg Hillier, a Labour MP and chair of the Committee, said: “Government will soon trial the extension of free childcare and it must learn quickly from this experience if families are to properly benefit from the full roll-out. Parents need to be able to access a sufficient number of providers, of sufficient quality. The Government must implement measures to assure this.

“We are particularly concerned that the economic realities of providing childcare will deter providers from offering the extended provision. Evidence suggests this would most affect families from disadvantaged areas, which is doubly concerning given the already disappointing take-up of funded places for disadvantaged two-year-olds.”

She added that it would be a “grave mistake to extend this policy on shaky foundations”.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, welcomed the report, saying: “The Public Accounts Committee is absolutely right to warn that there may not be enough providers willing to deliver the 30 hour free childcare offer next year if government does not address the sector’s concerns. Independent research commissioned by the Alliance has shown that, even with the increased average rates promised by government, there is still likely to be a significant shortfall in funding when the scheme rolls out in 2017.”

He added: “We recognise that, as a manifesto promise, the government is committed to rolling this offer out, but doing so in a rushed, chaotic way is not the answer. How many organisations have to raise these concerns before the government finally accepts that there’s a problem?"