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Councils cut grant to private sector

A nursery owner has been told by his local authority that the nursery education grant may rise by just 3 per cent - well below the 6.8 per cent promised by the DfES in the new code of practice. Stuart Bright said he had received an e-mail on 10 March from an official in North Lincolnshire Council indicating that the rise would be just 23 pence per session per child of free nursery education for three- and four-year-olds.

Stuart Bright said he had received an e-mail on 10 March from an official in North Lincolnshire Council indicating that the rise would be just 23 pence per session per child of free nursery education for three- and four-year-olds.

He said the council currently pays providers 385 per child per term, while private operators in a neighbouring authority receive 446.

A spokeswoman for the North Lincolnshire Children's Information Service said that a final decision on the increase would be made this week. But she confirmed that providers currently receive 7.01 per child for a two- and-a-half-hour session, well below the rate paid in most authorities in the UK.

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