The letter was sent from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Ofsted and Sure Start to all local authorities, local authority children's services departments and Ofsted regional centres.
The National Childminding Association says its members across England and Wales have been having difficulties because some planning departments have been ignoring guidance and insisting that childminders seek planning permission before setting up their business.
This is despite the fact that Planning Policy Guidance (PPG4), published in 1992, gives childminding as an example of working from home that does not normally require planning permission when no structural changes have been made to the building.
Chief executive of the National Childminding Association Gill Haynes welcomed the joint guidance. In a letter to Nursery World she said, 'NCMA is delighted that this letter has been sent and hopes it starts to tackle the planning inconsistencies experienced by some childminders who are effectively prevented from providing or expanding their childcare service to local families for no legitimate reason.'
National Childminding Association members voted to 'name and shame'
offending planning departments at their AGM last November.
Rita Ashman, a registered childminder from Tamworth in Staffordshire, who was frustrated at inconsistencies in her local area, proposed the initial resolution. She said difficulties had occurred because the county has eight district councils each working independently and holding their own planning responsibilities, with varying views on the number of children that can be cared for in neighbouring areas.
'It's a national problem that dates back pre-Ofsted. The issue has never been resolved,' she said. 'Different planning departments interpret the guidance in different ways.'
She said this was despite the national standards for registered childminding stating that childminders can care for three children under five and three children from five to seven years.
'This is a great concern to NCMA because we know that in some areas, including Staffordshire, when somebody applies to become a registered childminder, they are told they must first apply to their district council planning department to check how many they can care for. Often they are told that they can only look after no more than three children. This means that their business is unlikely to be financially viable and they decide not to proceed.'
Mike Peters, head of planning and housing strategy at Spel- thorne Borough Council, said childminders should set out a proposal to the local authority, giving details of how many children they are registered for, the times of day they are looking after them and some idea of the 'comings and goings'. He said the childminder is then advised whether to apply for planning permission. 'We make a decision as to whether the character of the property is substantially altered. If it continues to function as a dwelling house, the use for childminding would not normally require planning permission.' An application for planning permission for change of use costs 220.
A spokesman for Richmond-upon-Thames council said, 'If a childminder wants to look after six children or fewer, including their own, they wouldn't generally have to apply for planning permission. But each case is taken on its own merits.'
The full guidance, 'Planning and Childcare', can be downloaded at www.surestart.gov.uk/ surestartservices/planning.
* See Letters, page 35