Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
A BBC investigation has shown that UK councils face a £3 billion black hole in their budgets as they emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.
The government says it has handed councils £12 billion during the pandemic, but as many as ten councils have has to ask to borrow £300 million of emergency money from the government to plug financial holes.
As a result of the funding shortfall, some local authorities were struggling to carry out statutory duties and were at risk of bankruptcy.
Analysing 170 upper-tier and single tier councils in the UK the BBC Shared Data Unit found that UK local authorities plan to make at least £1.7 billion worth of savings in the 2021-22 financial year while also using more than £500 million worth of reserves to balance the books. Furthermore, a quarter of those savings - some £434 million - will be made in adult social care departments, which provide support to the elderly and vulnerable.
Despite making the cuts, the BBC reports that local authorities predict a £3 billion shortfall in their budgets by 2023-24. Nearly 60 per cent of councils in England have risen council tax by the new statutory maximum of 4.99 per cent to compensate for losses, a rise of about £100 on a yearly Band D bill in many areas.
Sharon Taylor, a Labour councillor who chairs the Local Government Association's resources board, said the pandemic had highlighted an existing funding crisis brought about by a reduction in central government grants - a fall of up to 70 per cent over ten years in some places.
Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
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