Providers need help with rising costs.

A cross-party delegation of MPs from Devon has taken the case for nursery education in the county to the top.

Guy Henderson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk 

They met the secretary of state for education and the minister for children to discuss the challenges facing nursery provision in the south west.

The meeting followed representations from nursery owners in both Plymouth and Torbay about the challenges they face. 

Torbay’s Conservative MP Kevin Foster and Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Labour MP Luke Pollard headed the push for action on issues affecting the sector in the region, along with Cheryl Hadland, the founder and chair of Tops Day Nurseries, a Dorset-based company that has branches in Devon, including  in one Babbacombe and several in Plymouth.

The MPs raised issues such as support for training new staff, energy costs, increasing staff wages and business rates.

Following changes announced in the March budget, eligibility for childcare is being expanded significantly over the next two years, with increases in the amount of childcare costs which can be reclaimed under Universal Credit due later this month.

But the delegation stressed that challenges facing local nurseries must be addressed if the sector is to sustain itself and be able to increase capacity to meet the demand for places which will follow the expansion of eligibility.

The two ministers explained how the budget for childcare will increase to £8 billion over the next two years, and that a significant increase in the hourly rate paid to providers is due in September.

They pledged to look at how the system for apprenticeship training supports the childcare sector, and at how commercial childcare providers pay business rates but those based in schools and churches don’t.

Mr Foster said later: “The expansion of eligibility will help many local families, but it is vital the funding package works for providers as well.

“We set out clearly the challenges local nurseries are facing and it was encouraging to have confirmation that further details of funding will be with local providers shortly.”

“Our Committee warned in 2021 that the system of local government audit was close to breaking point. Disappointingly, since then the situation has only gotten worse. The cases of Croydon, Slough, Thurrock and Woking councils all should serve as flashing red signals for the Government, and our report finds that the rot risks spreading to central government finance and the NHS.” Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee

I.e. the system is bust! – Owl

committees.parliament.uk 

The unacceptably high backlog of audit opinions for local government bodies may get worse before it gets better. A Public Accounts Committee report today says that delays to publishing audited accounts for local government bodies increases the risk of governance or financial issues being identified too late, and hinders accountability for £100 billion in local government spending, with knock-on impacts for central government and the NHS.

Only 12% of local government bodies received audit opinions on their finances in time to publish accounts for 2021-22 within the already extended deadline for local authority accounts publication. Over 400 local government bodies missed this deadline, with the cumulative backlog of unpublished opinions rising to 632 for 2021-22. The scale of the issue suggests the position for 2022-23 may deteriorate, with the Government and Financial Reporting Council (FRC), worryingly, unable to say when these issues will be addressed.

The risk of significant financial or governance issues being detected too late increases significantly where audits are delayed and with the same pool of auditors working across other sectors, audits of other areas of public spending including the NHS and central government risk being delayed.

The PAC’s report calls for the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA), Government’s preferred choice as system leader, to be established. While PAC stressed this point in a 2021 report, there are still few signs of it happening. ‘Shadow’ arrangements with the FRC taking on responsibility to lead local audit have also not yet formally started, meaning the system remains fragmented with deep-rooted challenges remaining unaddressed. The Committee also urges the Government and FRC to set out how it will tackle the long-standing challenges in building capacity, capability and leadership in local audit, while expressing disappointment that there has been little progress despite warnings in the past.

Chair’s comments

Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Committee, said:

“Our Committee warned in 2021 that the system of local government audit was close to breaking point. Disappointingly, since then the situation has only gotten worse. The cases of Croydon, Slough, Thurrock and Woking councils all should serve as flashing red signals for the Government, and our report finds that the rot risks spreading to central government finance and the NHS.

There needs to be more resilience in the local audit market if the situation is to improve. Our inquiry heard there are fewer than 100 key audit partners registered to perform local audit, a worryingly low number. The Government must get its hands round this problem as a matter of urgency. It’s local taxpayers and service users who lose out when serious financial issues arise. The lack of timely accounts leaves council tax payers in the dark.”

Deputy Chair’s comments

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Deputy Chair of the Committee, said:

“The cumulative delay of auditing 632 Local Authority 2021-2022 accounts is a really serious matter, hindering accountability of £100 billion of local government spending. 

How many more horror stories such as Croydon, Slough, Thurrock, and more recently the shocking case of Woking council are there remaining undetected, which ultimately always have to be bailed out at huge costs to the taxpayer? The fragility of the number of qualified people and firms tending to carry out these important audits means that the system will only get worse before it gets better.

Our report makes a number of important recommendations, such as the role of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to strengthen Local Government Authority, and importantly when its successor the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA) will be set up.”

• Read the full report (PDF)
• Read the report summary