PARENTS are being stung by shock new fees despite the roll-out of extra free childcare designed to ease the burden on hard working mums and dads, The Sun can reveal.
Earlier this month, the Government introduced 15 hours of free childcare a week for working parents of two-year-olds.
It is the first phase of a plan to offer 30 hours of free childcare to all eligible parents of children between nine months and three years old by September 2025.
Until this month, parents could only claim 15 hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds in England, but this has now been extended to include two-year-olds.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes.
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The Government will provide funding directly to childcare providers instead of parents paying for these hours themselves.
But an investigation by The Sun has found that a number of nurseries brought in new compulsory fees for food and admin costs at the same time extra free hours were introduced, despite this being against Government guidance.
It comes after nurseries have warned they may have to increase fees or close as a result of the additional free childcare roll-out, as they say the Government doesn't provide as much funding as they would charge parents directly.
In one email from a nursery near Woking in Surrey, seen by The Sun, parents were told they must start paying a new £29 daily "consumables charge", even if they were only claiming free childcare hours.
They were also told to pay a £55 "non-refundable registration fee" just for registering for the free hours.
The email said: "All children claiming funding of either 15 or 30 hours per week will be required to pay a daily fee for consumables.
"When claiming a funded-only place, parents are required to pay a non-refundable £50 registration fee."
The nursery claimed that alongside food, the extra funding would cover "trips to the park".
As part of its latest guidance to nurseries, The Government has warned that they cannot make extra fees - including for "consumables" - a condition of accessing free childcare hours.
Parents claiming only for free childcare hours should not have to pay any compulsory fees and an alternative should be offered.
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The Government also stressed that nurseries should not be charging "top-up fees", where they ask parents claiming only free childcare to make up any shortfall in funding.
While the new fees being introduced are not being labelled as top-up fees, some parents have expressed concern that they are just disguised as covering certain costs, when in reality it is covering funding gaps.
One parent at the Woking nursery told The Sun: "When the new 15 hours of free childcare came in, our nursery started accepting it but also introduced a new £29 a day charge for consumables.
"It's very much reduced the benefit we get from the free childcare and I doubt we're the only parents affected."
Indeed, another parent with a daughter at a nursery in Huddersfield said she had never been asked to pay for consumables before, until her invoice arrived in April this year requesting an extra £61.
When she queried the charge, which appeared as "1x daily rate" on her invoice, she was told it was a compulsory consumables charge.
"This sounds a lot to me as she [my daughter] only has one meal each time she goes, and I wasn't made aware I'd be charged for this prior to receiving my invoice," she said.
Consumer champion Martyn James said The Sun's findings could be "the tip of the iceberg" and many nurseries are likely to have started charging new fees, which means thousands of parents could be affected.
"Unfortunately, many parents are afraid to stand up their nursery because they're scared of their place being withdrawn, but it's important to remember these charges actually aren't allowed to be compulsory under Government rules," he said.
When The Sun raised these findings to the Department for Education, a spokesperson said: “This Government is making the largest ever investment in childcare in England’s history, set to save parents taking up the full 30 hours an average of £6,900 for the new entitlements.
“We have published statutory guidance for local authorities which makes clear they should ensure that providers do not charge parents top-up fees, and that additional charges for consumables or additional hours should not be made a condition of accessing a free place.”
What extra fees are nurseries allowed to charge?
According to the Government, its funding for free childcare is not intended to cover the cost of meals, other consumables such as nappies, or additional activities, such as trips.
Providers may charge a fee for these extras.
However, the Government states parents must not be required to pay any of these fees as a condition of taking up a place for 15 hours of free childcare, and must be offered alternative options.
Laura Suter, director of personal finance at broker AJ Bell, explained that nurseries often do not get as much funding from the Government as they would be able to charge parents, which is why many are looking to fill the gap.
“The new funded childcare hours for two year olds from this month will be a welcome boost to household budgets, but parents in the existing scheme are all too aware that 15 free hours doesn’t actually equate to that in reality," she said.
"The amount nurseries are paid by the Government for the funded hours is often vastly less than the nursery would charge parents, meaning they have a shortfall to cover.
"While nurseries aren’t allowed to explicitly charge a top-up fee when you’re claiming the free hours, they will often charge for additional items that are ordinarily included in the fees, such as meals or activities."
It is understood that the Government is in the process of reforming funding rules to ensure Local Authorities pass on at least 97% of funding to childcare providers - up from 95% currently - and that these funds are transferred more quickly.
Can I complain if I don't agree with the charges?
If you're unhappy with the fees your nursery or childminder is charging you, your first port of call should be to speak to your provider.
They should have a formal complaints process they can share with you.
If you don't agree with the outcome of the complaint, you can speak to Citizens Advice for further assistance or legal advice.
Mr James added: "If you're worried about losing your place, consider speaking to your local council to let them know anonymously, or ask Citizens Advice if it can intervene without revealing who you are."
How can I claim free childcare hours?
All eligible parents are able to claim either 15 or 30 hours of free childcare, depending on the age of their child.
To be eligible, you and any partner must both expect to earn at least £183 per week, equivalent to 16 hours per week at the national minimum wage.
You must also both earn less than £100,000 of adjusted net income.
Anyone on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, or anyone unable to work due to disability or caring responsibilities, could also still be eligible.
To find out if you can claim and start your application, visit gov.uk/apply-free-childcare-if-youre-working.
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