Councils click into the future of planning
In town halls across the country, planning officers are racing to update their Local Plans — but this time, the process looks very different.
Disadvantaged children ‘priced out’ of childcare
20/03/2025 Council leaders called for a review of who is entitled to free childcare after a survey revealed disadvantaged children were ‘priced out’ of nursery places. |
Government announces nursery top-up fees ban
21/02/2025 Parents using Government-funded free childcare cannot be required to pay top-up fees for items such as nappies and snacks, according to new guidance. |
Council loses legal challenge over nursery fees
12/02/2025 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has failed in its bid to challenge a decision made by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. |
Nursery fees set to jump 10%
11/02/2025 The rise in employers' national insurance will force most nurseries to increase their fees by 10%, a new survey has revealed. |
£15m fund launched to support childcare expansion
17/10/2024 The Government has announced a £15m funding initiative to support the creation of up to 300 new or expanded school-based nurseries across England. |
Labour pledges £15m to support 300 new nurseries
26/09/2024 Three hundred nurseries will be opened by next September to help address the rising demand for childcare, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announces. |
Councils’ confidence for childcare roll-out ‘worryingly low’
27/06/2024 Local authorities in England have raised concerns that they will be unable to meet demand in the next phase of the expansion of free childcare. |
Council chiefs warn of nursery closures
05/07/2023 Nine in 10 councils said they were concerned that nursery closures would undermine capacity ahead of the extension of the 30 hours free childcare scheme. |
Universal Credit childcare payments to rise nearly 50%
31/05/2023 Parents on Universal Credit will be able to claim hundreds of pounds more to cover childcare costs from the end of June, the Government has announced. |
Childcare provider fined record £225,000
22/05/2023 Britain’s biggest childcare provider given record fine after mouse droppings were found in the kitchen and the children’s play areas of one of its nurseries. |
Council asked to reimburse father for nursery fees
19/05/2023 Windsor and Maidenhead Council has been asked to partially reimburse the fees a father paid while his daughter was receiving free nursery care. |
Early years spending ‘seriously eroded’
12/12/2022 Spending on early years and higher education has been ‘seriously eroded’ by higher-than-expected inflation, financial experts have warned. |
Childcare offer ‘complex, patchy and costly’, think tank says
22/09/2022 A think tank has called for a radical overhaul of childcare as research finds that the cost of childcare is forcing new parents to pay to return to work. |
Parents face ‘postcode lottery’ for expensive childcare, survey reveals
26/02/2020 Parents are paying 5% more for childcare for the under-twos than they were one year ago, according to an annual survey of childcare costs. |
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Childcare funding ‘insufficient’, council chiefs warn
28/02/2019 Government funding for nursery school places often fails to cover the costs for those providing the care, local authority leaders have warned. |
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Council chiefs warn of ‘detrimental impact’ of nursery cuts
24/10/2018 Local authority leaders have warned that Government plans to cut funding are placing maintained nurseries and support for children with special needs at risk. |
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Nurseries need ‘urgent investment’ to cope with teacher shortage
01/11/2016 Save the Children has called for urgent investment in early years education to cope with a shortage of 10,000 nursery school teachers. |
