Parents are hit by rise in nursery fees
HARD-PRESSED families are facing a five per cent hike in nursery childcare costs from September.
Councillors on Salford town hall’s cabinet voted for the first rise in costs since April 2019 when fees also rose by 5pc.
But the cost of childcare in Salford’s five local authority nurseries is still lower than the private providers in the city, said director of adult and children’s services, Charlotte Ramsden.
A full week’s care for a child up to the age of two will go up by £9.47 to £198.98; for two to three-year-olds it will rise by £9.13 to £191.63 and for those aged three and above it will go up by £8.80 to £184.80.
Based on a 75 per cent take-up of nursery places, the move will generate an extra £66,165 for local authority coffers. The increased revenue would also enable to reduce the level of financial support from the local authority to its nurseries.
But cabinet members were told that on top of a £1.5m subsidy a year, additional funds of nearly £500,000 have had to be provided over the last three years because of low occupancy levels – partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Councillors rejected an alternative option to increase the fees in line with the retail price index (RPI) by 8.41pc.
Assistant director of adult and children’s services, Cathy Starbuck, said Salford’s occupation rates were ‘below what we have budgeted for.’
“We are doing what we can to increase the uptake in our nurseries,” she said.
Coun Jim Cammell said he thought it was important to make sure families who are impacted by the increase would be given ‘appropriate support by officers on the council.’
Average nursery fees across Great Britain average at £252.07 for those under the age of two, the cabinet was told. In the North West the
average is £214.37 and in Salford, it is £203.
Ms Ramsden said: “We are confident our prices are still lower than the private nurseries that are around. But it is important to maintain the quality level of our nurseries. The majority of people using our nurseries get free places [because of their circumstances].”