Coalition Government's £1.5m cut to Kirklees childcare groups - find out if your child's group won't be getting money to buy toys this year
Aug 28 2010 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
THE Examiner has uncovered full details of Huddersfield childcare groups hit by a Government funding cut.
Earlier this month we revealed that dozens of playgroups, nurseries and self-employed childminders would lose out on new toys and equipment.
But Kirklees Council initially refused to name most of the groups affected by the £1.5m cut imposed by central Government.
The Examiner used the Freedom of Information Act to request the details.
Yesterday Kirklees responded with the information.
Among the groups to lose out on funding are:
Mulberry Bush Pre-school based at Almondbury High School, which was due to receive £23,000 for outdoor play development
Slaithwaite Playgroup and Toddlers, which was meant to get £11,000 for toilet improvements
Jack and Jill’s Nursery in Golcar, which was supposed to get £12,000 for a canopy and outdoor resources
Al-Nasiha Childcare in Birkby, which was meant to receive £20,000 for outdoor development
Hey Days Nursery in Holmfirth, which was due to receive £7,000 for outdoor development
Lanefields Nursery in Skelmanthorpe, which was meant to get £28,000 to develop outdoor play
Overall, Kirklees revealed £911,000 of the cuts this week.
Nineteen of the 23 council wards are affected and 41 self-employed childminders have been hit by the cuts.
Earlier this month, the council told the Examiner about more than £500,000 of the £1.5m cut – including £270,000 for improvements to Darul Arqum Nursery in Batley and a £260,000 grant for improvements to Brownhill Parish Childcare Centre in Birstall.
The cuts were sprung on Kirklees at short notice last month.
On July 6 the Department for Education emailed councils about the Sure Start Early Years and Childcare Grant.
Civil servants gave local authorities just eight days to produce a list of all projects where a contract was yet to be signed.
The Government has given Kirklees £8.4m in the past three years to improve the equipment and premises of playgroups, nurseries and self-employed childminders.
Most of the funding, which runs from 2008 to 2011, has either been spent or promised to childcare providers in written contracts.
But the Department for Education is trying to claw back money which is yet to be formally signed-off.
On August 11 the Examiner carried the story of Bev Senior, one of nine self-employed childminders from Golcar who had lost out on funding.
She applied for £4,845 of new play equipment – but is likely to end up with nothing.
Full list of childcare providers on next page.
