Manchester City Council plans to cut 26 per cent of its children's services budget by stopping universal access to children's centres and scrapping qualified teaching posts within the settings.
Under the proposals, seen by Nursery World, the council would bring in PVI providers to run its children's centres and offer targeted services to 'the most vulnerable' families.
The local authority also plans to reduce back office support in finance, human resources and IT and cut any uncommitted children's centre funding. The proposals would see children and youth services cut by £14m in 2011/2012 and a further £11m in 2012/2013.
The council currently charges, on average, £126 per week for daycare at its maintained settings, which it says is well below the market rate of £147 to £160 and below the real cost for each place which it says is £250 per week. It plans to increase fees from April and seek to commission providers from the PVI sector to take over its childcare provision.
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here