The Early Years Alliance is calling on the government to commit
to continuing to provide early entitlement funding regardless of
childcare attendance figures until at least spring 2021,
following the extension of the Job Retention Scheme announced by
the Chancellor earlier today.
The government is currently funding councils in England for two-,
three- and four-year-olds accessing government-funded childcare
places based on attendance figures from 2019, in order to support
early years providers during a period of low demand. However,
this support is due to end at the end of the year.
The Alliance has already expressed fears that the early years
sector is drastically underfunded, and is also calling for a £240
million Early Years Sufficiency Fund at the upcoming Spending
Review to protect nurseries, pre-schools and childminders most at
risk of going out of business. A recent Alliance survey found
that one in six early years providers could close by Christmas
2020 without additional funding, rising to one in four in the
most deprived local authorities.
Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years
Alliance, said:
“The measures announced by the Chancellor today, while
undoubtedly welcome, are a clear acknowledgement by government of
the long-term economic impact that the latest restrictions are
likely to have.
"As the Chancellor clearly knows based on his actions today,
businesses need certainty to plan for the future. It's critical,
therefore, that that same certainty is given to early years
providers who now face the prospect of reduced demand for several
months as a result of changing work patterns and a sharp increase
in the number of parents on furlough no longer requiring
childcare.
"If the sector is to survive, it is essential that the government
provides the support early years providers need to get through
this difficult period. That means both a commitment to continuing
to pay for funded childcare places that would normally have been
taken up through to the end of the spring term, and urgent
emergency funding to safeguard those settings most at risk of
closure, especially providers heavily reliant on private parental
income.
"This, alongside a review of the overall level of funding
received by the sector, is absolutely vital if we are to ensure
the continued availability of early years education and care for
children and families across the country, both during the
pandemic and beyond."
