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 “…many providers have faced increases in operating costs and, for this reason, we have resisted any fee increased over the course of the last parliament” adding that “I 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”.
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 “any increases will be phased in with plenty of advance notice and still retain a significant element of central government support”.
Ofsted fees currently range from £35 for individual childminders to £200 for group settings. Representative organisations, including the Alliance, have been invited to share views with the minister on “what a sustainable increase might look like for a range of service providers, and how best to phase these in” ahead of a full consultation.
Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch said: "“At a time when so many early years providers are struggling financially, many will — rightly — 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.
“It 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.”