News

Subsidy to be paid direct to London care providers

Daycare providers in London will soon be able to benefit from a grant paid directly to them, as part of a 33m, three-year scheme to help working parents with the relatively high cost of childcare in the capital. In the next few weeks, providers in the maintained, private and voluntary sectors will receive application forms from the 33 London boroughs inviting them to submit bids to take part in the London Childcare Affordability Programme, a joint initiative between the London Development Agency (LDA) and the Sure Start, Extended Schools and Families Unit (News, 31 March).
Daycare providers in London will soon be able to benefit from a grant paid directly to them, as part of a 33m, three-year scheme to help working parents with the relatively high cost of childcare in the capital.

In the next few weeks, providers in the maintained, private and voluntary sectors will receive application forms from the 33 London boroughs inviting them to submit bids to take part in the London Childcare Affordability Programme, a joint initiative between the London Development Agency (LDA) and the Sure Start, Extended Schools and Families Unit (News, 31 March).

Providers have until the end of September to submit their bids to the LDA.

The programme starts in October and runs until March 2008.

To bid for the full daycare element providers must offer a minimum of six hours of childcare a day, five days a week. Providers will also be encouraged to offer more flexible care to parents who work part-time or unsocial hours.

Providers can offer a maximum of 50 per cent of their registered places to parents who qualify for the scheme but nurseries must guarantee to charge them no more than 175 a week. In return, providers will receive a subsidy of up to 30 per place to help cover the difference between the 175 and the actual cost of the place.

Denise Freeland, senior childcare manager at the LDA, said, 'It's a very exciting mix of supply and demand-side funding. It's like a London weighting for childcare costs. The pilot will be evaluated to learn lessons and feed ideas into the 2007 spending review.

'It's a two-way thing, for low-income parents who can't afford childcare and providers with spaces that can't be filled because they're too expensive.'

The second part of the programme from April 2006 will support a range of pilots to tackle a wider range of issues such as supporting parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities to access affordable childcare in any setting. Sandra Brouet, regional development manager for the National Day Nurseries Association, said, 'Giving funding direct to providers is a positive move. It goes some way to reducing the cost of daycare and gives parents more choice, and it will help providers alleviate the problem of low occupancy rates.'

Information about the scheme is available from borough early years and childcare teams or from Denise Freeland at the LDA on 020 7954 4207.