(The Minister of State for School
Standards): Today I am confirming the final hourly
funding rates for the free early education entitlements in
2020-21. In total we are planning to spend more than £3.6 billion
in 2020-21 to support nurseries and childminders in England to
deliver high quality care and education.
As a result of the additional funding announced by the Chancellor
at the Spending Round for Early Years, we will increase the
hourly funding rates for all local authorities for the two year
old entitlement by 8p an hour. Funding for the three and four
year old entitlement will also increase by 8p an hour in the vast
majority of areas. We are increasing the minimum funding floor
for the three and four year old offer to £4.38p.
Thirteen councils have had their 2019-20 hourly funding rates for
3 and 4 year olds protected by the “loss cap” in the Early Years
National Funding Formula, to ensure that they do not face large
drops to their funding rate. Funding for all these councils will
be maintained in 2020-21. Loss cap areas are: Bradford, Bristol,
Camden, Derbyshire, Ealing, Halton, Islington, Lambeth, Rutland,
Southwark, Sunderland, Tower Hamlets, and Westminster.
I can also confirm today that supplementary funding for
Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) will continue, at its current
rate, for the whole of the 2020-21 financial year. I can also
confirm that the government remains committed to funding for MNS
in the longer term; and that any reform to the way they are
funded in future will be accompanied with funding protections.
