Autumn Statement: no additional support for nursery sector

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt gave his Autumn Statement in Parliament today announcing no sector-specific support for nursery businesses. From April 2023, the National Living Wage is set to rise again by 9.7%, with minimum wage for 21 and 22 year olds increasing by 10.9%. The education budget will increase by £2.3bn but there was no mention… Continue reading Autumn Statement: no additional support for nursery sector

Funding rates to rise for 22-23 by less than inflation

Today the Government has published its early years entitlement funding rates from the Department for Education to local authorities in England for two, three and four-year-old places. Most councils will receive an increase of 17p per hour for three and four-year-olds which for the areas with the lowest funding rate of £4.44 is an increase… Continue reading Funding rates to rise for 22-23 by less than inflation

High employment rates will put stress on early years recruitment

The Office for National Statistics released its latest figures for the UK labour market this week. Employment is estimated at 75.4% – 1.1 percentage points lower than pre-pandemic levels, but 0.4 percentage points higher than last quarter. Unemployment figures came in at 4.3, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points and is only marginally higher then… Continue reading High employment rates will put stress on early years recruitment