Government mulls Ofsted fee increase
The government are set to consult on proposed increases to Ofsted annual fees, childcare minister Sam Gyimah has confirmed.
In a letter sent to early years organisations, the minister stated 鈥溾any providers have faced increases in operating costs and, for this reason, we have resisted any fee increased over the course of the last parliament鈥 adding that 鈥淚 remain convinced that government should continue to subsidise the cost of Ofsted fees paid by childcare providers; but with a growing economy and fee increases across other sectors, we can no longer delay revisiting this area鈥.
The minister stated that the move was intended to comply with Treasury guidance that all regulators should aim to recover the economic costs of their activities from customers through the fees they charge, and insisted that 鈥渁ny increases will be phased in with plenty of advance notice and still retain a significant element of central government support鈥.
Ofsted fees currently range from 拢35 for individual childminders to 拢200 for group settings. Representative organisations, including the 无码天堂, have been invited to share views with the minister on 鈥渨hat a sustainable increase might look like for a range of service providers, and how best to phase these in鈥 ahead of a full consultation.
无码天堂 chief executive Neil Leitch said: "鈥淎t a time when so many early years providers are struggling financially, many will 鈥 rightly 鈥 be concerned by the prospect of yet another increased business cost. While we recognise that the fees charged by regulators are always subject to increase, the proposed increase in Ofsted fees is likely to coincide with the introduction of the 30-hour offer.
鈥淚t is vital, therefore, that any consultation on this change is, in fact, a proper consultation that genuinely takes into account the views of the sector and the impact that any increase in fees would most certainly have, as well as acknowledging the ever-increasing financial pressures that providers are under.鈥