The DfE has been given until the Thursday 14 November to provide the information to the Early Years Alliance, which has repeatedly asked for disclosure of the information.
In December 2018, the Alliance filed a freedom of information (FOI) request to the DfE asking for the calculations, or broader thinking underpinning current early years funding levels. As part of the request, it asked for information on exactly how the Government concluded that the funding rates for three- and four-year-old places, announced in 2015, were sufficient to cover rising business costs up until 2020.
In response, the DfE confirmed to the Alliance that it held relevant ‘spreadsheet, presentation and briefing documentation’, but rejected the FOI request on the grounds that the information formed part of the development of Government policy and the need to keep it private outweighed the public interest in releasing it. An appeal by the Alliance was rejected by the Government on the same grounds.
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