Councils in England are holding back millions of pounds of funding meant for free childcare places, according to nursery leaders.
The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said responses to freedom of information requests showed more than 90 out of 150 local education authorities had underspent by a total of £46m in the last year.
It says £229m intended for providers of free childcare has been underspent over the past four years.
Parents in England who work more than 16 hours a week and earn less than £100,000 are entitled to 30 hours’ free childcare a week for children aged three and four.
The Government has promised to expand the scheme to offer places to working parents of all children over the age of nine months. Providers have long complained that the scheme is chronically underfunded.
The findings were revealed to MPs on the education select committee who are holding an inquiry into support for childcare and the early years.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said councils often face challenges in relation to when money is received from Government and have to manage this to ensure providers receive funding.
‘Where this is an underspend, this is also often reallocated according to local need, such as to support children with additional needs, so the money is still invested in early years provision.’
NDNA chief executive Purnima Tanuku described the results of the survey as ‘shocking.’
‘This system needs fixing and reforming now if the early years sector is going to have a hope of delivering the Government’s new plans.’
