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- Welsh Government expects applications for free childcare scheme to be significantly down on usual figures.
- Concerns that many nurseries miss out on Welsh Government business support because they’re not VAT-registered.
- £5000 grants available to childcare providers to make up for this “gap”.
Another area hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic is childcare. In a statement to MSs yesterday, Deputy Minister for Health & Social Services, Julie Morgan (Lab, Cardiff North), said that during the peak more than half of all childcare providers in Wales closed.
Many have since reopened and, as of August 2020, applications for the Welsh Government’s childcare offer – which provides up to 30 hours of free childcare a week during term time for 3-and-4-year olds from qualifying households – have reopened after being suspended since April. Take-up is, however, expected to be lower than usual.
“Reinstating the offer is a key part of our recovery plan. Not only does the offer provide much-needed security of funding for providers, but it helps thousands of parents, especially mothers, who have been particularly negatively impacted by recent months. Around 14,600 children were accessing the offer in January and it’s anticipated that around 8,000 to 9,000 children will take up the offer in the autumn term, which is approximately 75% to 85% of the usual take-up for autumn.”
– Deputy Minister for Health & Social Services, Julie Morgan
Additionally, grants worth up to £5,000 have been made available to childcare providers on top of other forms of pandemic business support.
Despite this, Shadow Children’s Minister, Laura Anne Jones (Con, South Wales East) said many nurseries have been running at a loss due to the low uptake. She added that some nurseries may not be eligible for additional Welsh Government support as they’re not VAT registered. The Deputy Minister said the grant scheme was introduced to address those gaps.
Sian Gwenllian MS (Plaid, Arfon) wondered whether, in light of the uptake shortfall, the Welsh Government would consider extending the offer to include unemployed parents – one of the main points of debate surrounding the law which created the scheme?
Additionally, Jenny Rathbone MS (Lab, Cardiff Central) highlighted the lack of nurseries in deprived areas where private providers may be reluctant to go.
The Deputy Minister confirmed a review is being undertaken to determine whether the scheme can expand to include parents in training or education. That review is set to report back later in the year.
The success of Flying Start will likely result in future extension “much more widely” and open it up to those living outside the strictly-defined Flying Start areas. The Deputy Minister conceded, however, that Wales remained “way behind the Scandinavian countries (on high-quality early years childcare)”.
