Further evidence has emerged that councils are either holding back or diverting money that is earmarked for the early years sector.

At least 24 councils in England have either underspent or used early years special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) money for older children over the last decade, freedom of information (FOI) requests issued by The Times have found.

While SEND spending is ringfenced, early years spending is not protected in the same way.

This follows on from an investigation by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) earlier this year which found that three in four of 132 councils that responded to its FOI requests had underspent on early years. Since 2017 at least £357m of funding meant for the early years sector has not reached providers.

The NDNA found that most of this money had been rolled over to the following year by local authorities or used to plug deficits in other parts of the Designated Schools Grant budget. It found that ‘some councils report several million each year is unspent’.

‘Councils must be properly audited to make sure that all Government funding meant to improves lives for children must be spent on them, not languishing in council accounts doing nothing,’ said NDNA chief executive Tim McLachlan.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of nurseries and childminders representative body the Early Years Alliance, said he is ‘incredibly concerned’ that councils are not spending money that is earmarked to support pre-school children.

‘In settings across the country, early educators are being left in impossible situations: wanting to do the very best for every child in their care – including those with SEND – but without the necessary funding, resources or support to do so,’ he said.

‘All too often, a child is already in primary school by the time they are able to access the additional support they need.

‘It is vital, therefore, that any money intended to support the delivery of care and education for young children with SEND does just that’.