Ministers vow crackdown on rip-off nursery fees

Ministers are to crack down on the nurseries charging banned ‘top-up’ fees, warning they prevent parents from using much-needed childcare.

In his first newspaper interview since taking the job, education minister Stephen Morgan told The Independent the government would look at “all options” to prevent the practice.

The problem was “an issue up and down the country”, he warned.

Earlier this year The Independent revealed parents were facing a hike in nursery fees of up to 15 per cent as they pick up the tab left by funding gaps in the Tory flagship scheme to expand free childcare.

Mr Morgan said he had met one parent receiving free funded childcare from the government who was then being charged an extra £2 per hour ‘top up’. He said: “Obviously, that is not allowed.”

Ministers will also clamp down on overcharging for extra fees to cover items such as food and nappies.

Mr Morgan said he had heard “loud and clear” from parents the “challenge around affordability, availability and accessibility of childcare - and when top-up fees have been a barrier for parents to access childcare, that’s obviously a cause of concern”.

He added: “For me, this is about fairness.”

He said the majority of nursery providers were doing an “absolutely brilliant job”.

Initially, ministers will make guidance on the area “as clear and consistent as possible”.

But Mr Morgan did not rule out more stringent action. He said: “I think we need to look at all options to make sure that we deliver the change we need and deliver the promise to parents, of funded places across the country.”

He added: “Because what I want to make sure is not happening is where a parent is then not able to take a place at the nursery because of the ‘top up’ in fees.”

The crackdown comes as ministers prepare for an expected soar in demand, with a historic major expansion to 30 free hours of childcare from the age of nine months from next September.

To prepare the government plans to open thousands of new nursery classes in schools. Schools can now bid for up to £150,000 each as part of a £15 million government drive to help fulfil the pledge.

The first stage of the plan is designed to help create up to 300 new or expanded nurseries, with many more to follow before September.

New data from the Department for Education also shows more than 300,000 extra children are benefiting from government-funded hours since the scheme was expanded last month to offer 15 hours to those aged nine months and above.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “All children should have the opportunity of a brilliant early education, no matter who they are, where they’re from or how much their parents earn.”

The childcare pledge was the central plank of the then chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Budget last year.

It was designed to boost the UK’s sluggish economy by helping thousands of parents back into the workforce.

Overall Mr Hunt’s plans are set to see the proportion of children receiving funded childcare grow from just over 50 per cent to 80 per cent.

Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “Ultimately, the only way to ensure that early education is genuinely affordable for all is to ensure that sector funding reflects the true cost of delivering high-quality early years provision, both now and in the future. Without this, all the guidance clarity in the world won’t actually help make places more affordable for parents.”