Call for more transparency on childcare fee "top-ups"
By Rachel Lawler
The has called on local authorities to have better oversight of the charging practices of childcare providers following an investigation into 鈥渢op-up鈥 fees.
The Ombudsman found that Leicestershire County Council did not have sufficient oversight of how providers were handling fees associated with the government鈥檚 funded childcare offers, following a parent complaint.
Top-up fees
The parent contacted the Ombudsman and reported being charged an extra 拢1.08 per hour for the 30 hours childcare offer.
After an investigation, the Ombudsman said that the county council had 鈥渇ailed to identify problems鈥 when auditing the setting and should have worked with the provider to 鈥渆nsure its invoices were clear, transparent and itemised鈥.
Free to parents
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: 鈥淲hile I acknowledge local authorities - and the early years sector - are struggling financially, the government's intentions have always been that these places are provided free of charge to parents, and it is up to local authorities to administer them accordingly.
鈥淕uidance states that councils should work with providers to ensure invoices are clear, transparent and itemised. Free must mean free, but in this case it was not possible for the man to see how the invoice was calculated or whether his daughter was receiving her entitlement free of charge.
鈥淲e are concerned that local authorities may not be delivering on the government鈥檚 pledge to parents, so I would urge other councils across the country to check their processes to ensure providers in their area are not making the same errors.鈥
Clear invoices and receipts
The Ombudsman said that the local authority should apologise to the parent and 鈥渢ake whatever action needed to ensure the man and any other parents who have been charged a top-up fee by the nursery receive their money back鈥.
It added that the authority would need to ensure that all parents using the nursery to access funded hours should receive 鈥渃lear, transparent and itemised invoices and receipts鈥.
Severe underfunding
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, commented: 鈥淲hile we fully support the principle of 'free' childcare and early education, and recognise the valuable role that it plays in supporting families across the country, the fact is that this policy has been severely underfunded for several years now, and this is putting many early years providers in an impossible position.
"Parents rightly do not expect to pay for something they have been told is free, but equally, it cannot be right that nurseries, pre-schools and childminders are expected to deliver these places at an often substantial loss, simply because government refuses to fund its flagship childcare policy adequately.
"If government is truly committed to ensuring that parents can access genuinely free early years places, then it needs to invest what is needed into the sector. With the additional financial impact of Covid on providers, this is more vital, and more urgent, than ever."