Opinion

Opinion: Why it's a fee rise too far

This week, the Department for Children, Schools and Families closed its 'Future Approach to Fees and Subsidies' consultation, which proposes increasing the annual fees for childminders on the Early Years Register by 400 percent and on the Ofsted Childcare Register by 686 percent.

The NCMA has been contacted by many members concerned about the potential impact on their childminding business.

For childminders, it is proposed that the annual fees for the Early Years Register, compulsory if you care for children from birth to five, will rise from £20 to £100 by 2010. The fee rise is even more for those childminders required to be on the Ofsted Childcare Register. NCMA believes this is a significant financial burden when most childminders are single-person enterprises with limited income. Our research suggests that half our members' annual childminding income was less than £7,000 per year. The DCSF's own provider survey identifies that a large number do not break even.

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