A spokesperson for Halton Borough Council says:

“Local Authorities must calculate and notify initial budgets to early years providers by 31st March 2018.

“A paper on Early Years was presented to School Forum on 17th January 2018. The paper advised that the LA had been notified that the funding rate had decreased and that this would lead to a reduction in hourly rates. It said that once the census had been completed in January and the information received from providers, the hourly rate would be calculated and a report presented to the School Forum meeting on 21st March 2018.

“The January paper was published on the School Forum website and was available for anyone to view. The School Forum does have representatives from the Early Years sector, and they updated early years providers who attended the Full Day Care meeting in February and the notes are circulated to all members.

“The rate and allocation for each setting was reported at the School Forum meeting on 21st March 2018, and the notification to the providers was issued the following day, well within the deadline for notification.

“In calculating the hourly rate a number of assumptions have to be made and these were set out clearly and discussed at School Forum. This information is posted on the School Forum website. These assumptions have been challenged by Early Learners, and the LA has agreed to undertake a review.

“The rate each provider receives will vary as a result of a number of factors, e.g. the level of deprivation in the area that they serve. In terms of the basic rate for 3 and 4 years old, however, this is higher than most of our neighbouring authorities.

“It is easy to understand the frustration of early years providers as they are facing a cut and, along with every other public service, they are being asked to do more with less. The review may go some way to assure people about how the money is divided, but the total amount of money given to us by the Government is less.”