Posted on Sunday 13th Nov 2016
The Department for Education has been told to re-think a decision not to publish key research it used to set new funding levels for free nursery places.
The Information Commissioner has given it 35 days to issue a fresh response to a challenge for the research to be made public.
The government had argued that research carried out by accountants Deloitte was not in its possession to publish.
But the Information Commissioner found that claim to be "not plausible".
The research fed into the government's decision on how to set hourly rates for nursery providers offering the free 30-hours nursery place entitlement.
This pre-election pledge by the Conservatives to offer places to working parents of three- and four-year-olds in England is due to come into force next September.
The rates were revealed in the review of childcare costs, which was published last year.
There were more than 50 references to the Deloitte research in that government review, leading the Pre-school Learning Alliance to ask the government to publish the research.
When the government refused, it took the case to the Information Commissioner.
The alliance has been arguing that the average hourly rates for the scheme of £4.88 per hour for four-year-olds and £5.39 for two-year-olds are too low and would make the early years sector unsustainable.
And it argued the Deloitte research was key to setting these rates and therefore should be published.
In its ruling, the commissioner said it was "unlikely that the DfE would commit to investing over £1bn more per year on childcare funding by 2019-2020" as a result of research it had not seen.
He added that if the research was held by Deloitte, then it was held on behalf of the department, and therefore subject to freedom of information requests.
Can't find what you are looking for?
Don't worry, please call us anyway to discuss your ideal job.
Latest News
18/12/24Worry for staff and children as London council moves ahead with plans to close Kent special school
Staff at a residential special school in Kent, which is run by a London council, have voiced worries about plans to close the facility down. Wandsworth Council is moving forward with plans to shut down Bradstow School in Broadstairs due to escalating financial pressures.
17/12/24Schools given £740m to adapt buildings for Send pupils
The government has announced £740m of funding to increase the number of places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in mainstream schools in England. ??The money, part of the £6.7bn of education spending announced in the Budget, will be targeted towards adapting school buildings to make them more accessible.
10/12/24Starmer wants 75% of children ‘school-ready’ by 2028
Target of three in four reception pupils at a 'good' level of development is one of six key 'milestones'
09/12/24Kent school where pupils feel 'safe and happy' named The Sunday Times 'best in the South East'
A Kent school has been named the best secondary school in the South East by The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2025. The highest-achieving primary and secondary schools across the UK have been ranked by the paper, which said its survey is "widely acknowledged as the most authoritative".
06/12/24Ofsted "alarmed" by absences and "flexi-schooling."
The “alarming” level of children missing school has become a “stubborn and damaging issue”, according to the chief inspector of Ofsted, England's schools regulator. Sir Martyn Oliver said he was also worried about a rise in "flexi-schooling", where parents educate their children at home for part of the week. It is not clear how many children are taught in this manner. The Department for Education (DfE) said the government was putting education "back at the forefront of national life". Ofsted's annual report said attendance issues had "deepened" since the pandemic.