Following an inquiry, the cross-party Education Committee put forward a number of recommendations to support the childcare and early years sector, outlined in a report, published in July.
The Government accepted, in full, four of the Select Committee’s recommendations, accepted a further 11 in part and rejected or failed to respond to eight.
The recommendations that were rejected include:
- Scrapping business rates for childcare settings.
- Making VAT zero-rated on business purchases.
- A review of Tax- Free Childcare.
Ministers said they had frozen business rates for the next five years and that rate relief schemes already provide discounts to childcare providers and others. The response said there are no plans to alter terms for VAT.
The Government did not fully accept the recommendation to work with childcare providers and local authorities to set the hourly funding rate when the universal 30 hours entitlements come in.
The DfE did not directly respond to MPs’ calls for it to prioritise career development of early years practitioners as a means of improving staff retainment, and giving it parity of esteem with staff working in schools.
In response, the DfE said it is developing a national campaign ‘to boost interest in the sector’. It also aims to boost recruitment with efforts to ‘remove barriers to entering the sector, by ensuring qualifications are suitable and easy to understand’, and by introducing new types of apprenticeships for becoming a childcare professional.
The National Day Nurseries (NDNA) said the ‘Government’s rejection of many of the most important recommendations represents a missed opportunity to fix some of the major challenges in the sector.’
Similarly, the Early Years Alliance (EYA) said the Government has ‘wasted an opportunity to put meaningful change in place to address the raft of challenges facing the sector and families alike’.
It argued that the sector needed the Government to show it had listened and acted on the findings of the Education Committee, rather than provided a ‘disappointing reiteration of recent policy announcements, combined with a complete refusal to budge on a number of key changes.’
Education Committee chair, Robin Walker MP, commented, ‘We maintain that there is a powerful case for reviewing the funding levels for childcare settings, the working of Tax Free Childcare and, given their vital contribution to the economy, the taxes they incur. We hope the Government is eyeing up ways to help the sector in its Autumn Statement, which will build on the positive announcements made in the spring.
‘We shall continue to press for action across Government to support this vital sector.’