City education chief’s apology for forcing nursery places ban
A senior education official has apologised to councillors after it emerged she took a controversial decision to ban children who live outside Edinburgh from accessing funded places in the city’s private nurseries.
Amanda Hatton, executive director for education and children’s services at City of Edinburgh Council, told the local authority’s education committee she did not expect the issue to become a “political hot potato” because it only impacts youngsters who live outside the Capital.
The Evening News revealed in February that parents who commute into Edinburgh would no longer be able to access funded childcare places in the city’s private nurseries.
Access was to be “phased out”, with those who work in the Capital but live in areas such as Fife, East Lothian, West Lothian and Midlothian only to be offered places for their children in council-run nurseries.
An update to councillors on Tuesday heard that 174 children from nine other local authority areas receive a funded place in Edinburgh, and 150 of them are in private nurseries. At the same time, 145 youngsters who live in Edinburgh are accessing their funded places in other local authority areas.
Edinburgh City Council’s plan, which is designed to save £1.2 million, is to phase out cross-boundary places in private nurseries from August this year. It will not impact youngsters currently in these nurseries, who will continue to receive funding until they go to school, but it will remove the option for other parents in the future.
At the committee meeting councillors questioned how and when the decision was made. Ms Hatton said it had not been a decision for the committee to make, but was delegated to her.
SNP councillor Simita Kumar said: “This is quite controversial, the way the decision was made. I feel that decision should have been referred to committee.”
Councillors also raised concerns about what happens if other local authorities follow suit and stop funding for places in private nurseries for youngsters who live in Edinburgh.
Officials argued funding places in private nurseries when they have spare capacity in council-run facilities was effectively “double funding”.