Childcare provider payments, capital grants and childcare sufficiency assessments
Case reference FOI2024/01139
Received 1 July 2024
Published 16 July 2024
Request
Provider payments:
1. What is the current timeframe for financial year 2024/25 on which you pay childcare providers for the delivery of funded early education and childcare places? (ie. Do you currently pay providers monthly, termly, offer a choice or use a different timeframe?
• Monthly
• Termly
• Mix/Provider choice
• Other approach
2. If you pay termly do you split the funding, please provide details of how this is done? (eg 75% at the start of term and 25% towards the end?)
3. If you pay termly, when in the term do you make the first payment to providers?
Within the first two weeks
Within weeks 2-4
Within weeks 4-6
After week 6
4. If you pay monthly, when in the month do you make the payment to providers?
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
5. Have you consulted with providers in the last two years on how you make payments to them for the delivery of funded early education and childcare places?
Yes
No
Currently running or planning consultation
Capital Grants:
The government announced £100m of capital support through the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant in autumn 2023. The fund was to support the provision of new places to support the expansion of:
• 30-hours entitlement places for children aged 9-months to 3-year-olds
• wraparound provision for primary school aged children
6. How much (in £) was your local authority’s allocation from central government under the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant scheme?
7. How much (in £) of your local authority’s allocation under the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant scheme has been distributed to any eligible recipients?
8. How much (in £) of your local authority’s allocation under the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant scheme has been distributed to:
a. private, voluntary or independent providers in the early years sector
b. School based settings
c. Local authority infrastructure projects
9. Please provide a % breakdown of the distributed funds under the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant has been spent between:
a. Children taking up an early years place through the expanded 30-hours entitlement for qualifying working parents
b. Increasing the supply of wraparound childcare for primary-school aged children.
Childcare Sufficiency Assessments:
10. Have you completed a Childcare Sufficiency Assessments in the last two years? Please provide a copy of this CSA report.
Response
Provider payments:
1. What is the current timeframe for financial year 2024/25 on which you pay childcare providers for the delivery of funded early education and childcare places? (ie. Do you currently pay providers monthly, termly, offer a choice or use a different timeframe?
• Monthly
• Termly
• Mix/Provider choice
• Other approach
A: We pay 100% on estimate payments throughout the year and 3 actuals payments (13 in total) but not always monthly- April being the exception.
Paying estimates at 100% means that termly payments are condensed into less months e.g. in a 4 month term, a setting claiming their estimates accurately, will have their 4 months paid over 3 months, and then be left without a remainder to be paid in the ‘actuals’ month.
Any setting making accurate estimates, that does not have any adjustments (children doing extra hours) and no weightings (EYPP) will not receive an ‘actual’ payment so it can appear that we do not pay monthly.
The LA pay twice at the beginning and end of March (one payment is for April) but cannot be made in April due to the end of the financial year
2. If you pay termly do you split the funding, please provide details of how this is done? (eg 75% at the start of term and 25% towards the end?)
A: N/A as we don’t pay termly.
3. If you pay termly, when in the term do you make the first payment to providers?
Within the first two weeks
Within weeks 2-4
Within weeks 4-6
After week 6
A: N/A as we don’t pay termly.
4. If you pay monthly, when in the month do you make the payment to providers?
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
A: Please see spreadsheet attached.
5. Have you consulted with providers in the last two years on how you make payments to them for the delivery of funded early education and childcare places?
Yes
No
Currently running or planning consultation
A: Currently running or planning consultation.
We have been approached this month by some childminders who have expressed that they find it hard to budget under the current payment schedule (front loaded 100% estimates). They are receiving all their money over a shorter period of time making it harder to budget. If a setting provides an accurate estimate and is not entitled to weightings, they will not receive a final ‘actual’ payment (missing 3 months of payments over a year). Childminders perceive that they are not being paid monthly.
As a resolution we have suggested we could pay a lower % of their estimate. If they provide accurate estimates, all settings should then receive an ‘actual’ payment.
We have agreed that we will take this forward as part of our annual consultation in December/January.
Capital Grants:
The government announced £100m of capital support through the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant in autumn 2023. The fund was to support the provision of new places to support the expansion of:
• 30-hours entitlement places for children aged 9-months to 3-year-olds
• wraparound provision for primary school aged children
6. How much (in £) was your local authority’s allocation from central government under the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant scheme?
A: £296,167.46 grant was received.
7. How much (in £) of your local authority’s allocation under the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant scheme has been distributed to any eligible recipients?
A: There has been no spend so far.
8. How much (in £) of your local authority’s allocation under the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant scheme has been distributed to:
a. private, voluntary or independent providers in the early years sector
b. School based settings
c. Local authority infrastructure projects
A: N/A as there has been no spend to date.
9. Please provide a % breakdown of the distributed funds under the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant has been spent between:
a. Children taking up an early years place through the expanded 30-hours entitlement for qualifying working parents
b. Increasing the supply of wraparound childcare for primary-school aged children.
A: N/A as there has been no spend to date.
Childcare Sufficiency Assessments:
10. Have you completed a Childcare Sufficiency Assessments in the last two years? Please provide a copy of this CSA report.
A: Yes. This information is publically available on Herefordshire Council’s website and can be viewed via the following link:
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
Documents
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