Meanwhile, Kent County Council has confirmed that two PVI providers have pulled out of the NEG scheme.
Private and voluntary providers were sent a letter detailing the new Delegated Conditions for the free entitlement for three- and four-year-olds on 13 March and told that they had just two weeks to lodge any objections to the terms, which took effect on 1 April.
The letter stated that any objection would be taken to mean that they would be withdrawn from the council's list of nursery education providers.
In the letter, the council said, 'If you agree to these Delegated Conditions you need to do nothing. However, if you object to the application of one or all of them, I must hear from you in writing within 14 days of the date of this letter. If I do not hear from you within 14 days, you will be deemed to have accepted these Delegated Conditions. If you do decide to object to the application of some or all of these conditions within 14 days, your nursery will be removed from KCC'S Directory of Providers.'
From 1 April, nurseries in Kent have received a 4.5 per cent increase in nursery education funding, equivalent to an hourly rate of £3.60 per child.
A spokesperson for Ashford Play Nursery said, 'It's blackmail. We can't afford to pull out, because we'd lose the majority of our funded children.'
The group runs three nurseries and estimates that around half its places are funded.
Its current hourly rate is £5, with a minimum session of three hours. Under the new hourly rate, the nursery would be receiving £9 for a two-and-a-half hour session.
Darrell King, chair of the Kent PVI Providers Association, said, 'My personal view is that the council is trying to minimise a reaction after we refused to sign the conditions last year. I think they're working on provider apathy and that people won't make a fuss. Some providers have complained about the tone and content of the letter because they feel it's very threatening. But the alternative is that they don't get any funding.'
Early education and childcare officer at the council, Alex Gamby, said, 'In Kent, two providers have told us they have chosen not to accept the delegated conditions. This means they will be unable to remain on the register of providers of the free entitlement. However, they can continue to provide childcare but they will not be able to claim funding for the delivery of the entitlement.'
Meanwhile, PVI providers in West Sussex had until Monday (7 April) to sign and return the agreement about this year's nursery education funding.
Lyn Povey, of the West Sussex PVI Association and owner of nurseries in Horsham and Worthing, said, 'The council are being very understanding, but it hasn't changed anything. The rate is the rate is the rate.'
The grant is £8.71 for two and a half hours compared with the £11.30 a session that she needs to break even.
'Local authorities are not funding us sufficiently. We're hard-pressed to make a profit,' said Ms Povey. She said that ultimately, if nurseries were forced to close or decided to not offer the NEG, parental choice would suffer. 'The Government is attacking parents through nurseries.'
Further information:
The West Sussex PVI Association can be contacted at sonwestsussex@aol.com.