Moray’s Conservative group of councillors have taken positive steps forward to securing a “crucial” funding boost for nursery providers across the area.
Group Leader Kathleen Robertson had confirmed last week that her group could not accept proposals from council officials that recommended a zero per cent uplift in the hourly rate providers receive to provide services.
Kathleen and her colleagues as well as Moray MP Douglas Ross said that was “totally unacceptable” in the current economic climate with high rates of inflation and nurseries suffering other rising bills, including energy costs.
However, in welcome news for independent nursery providers across Moray, the ruling Conservative administration have now ensured proposals for a five per cent uplift for providers, will be discussed at a meeting of the full council for approval, following a meeting of the council’s education committee today (Wednesday).
As Chair of the Education Committee, Kathleen Robertson had proposed the amendment to award providers the five per cent uplift, which was seconded by fellow Conservative Councillor Bridget Mustard, who is vice-chair of the committee.
While no vote was taken at the committee, it was agreed that the plans would now be taken forward for all councillors to debate.
Councillors Robertson and Mustard as well as Douglas Ross had all engaged with the sector in Moray including members of the campaigning group Fair Funding for Moray Children Action Group.
They say this clearly shows what can be achieved through “constructive engagement” with those that would have suffered the consequences of a zero per cent uplift in their hourly rate, if that had been accepted.
Moray’s Conservative representatives says they will continue to work closely with independent providers going forward to ensure that they do not have this “funding anxiety” left hanging over them and that parents have full clarity over their children’s nursery education in future, once it is decided by all members.
Moray Conservative Group Leader Kathleen Robertson said: “I am extremely pleased to have taken these positive steps towards securing this vital funding support for independent nursery providers across Moray.
"Having engaged constructively with them and heard their grave concerns, I simply could not accept the recommendation to award a zero per cent uplift.
“Nursery providers are grappling with the cost-of-living crisis and rising bills like the rest of us. Keeping the hourly rate they receive at the same as this year would have been totally unacceptable.
“Many providers simply would not have been able to survive without further increases to their funding which is why I brought forward plans to award providers a five per cent increase. While this will ultimately be taken forward to full council, I believe this decision is a step in the right direction.
“Alongside my councillor colleagues and local MP Douglas Ross, we will continue to show what can be done by working closely with nurseries and local campaigners in order to achieve much better outcomes than what they first feared.”
Conservative Councillor and Vice-Chair of Education Bridget Mustard said: “I promised last week that I would not idly stand by and let the initial recommendations be nodded through and today’s vote means that those plans have not seen the light of day.
“Those recommendations from council officers would have delivered a devastating real-terms financial cut to providers which would have crippled many of them in the current financial climate.
“It would have been our young people and their parents who would have paid the price as the very survival of many providers would have been under severe threat. We must always put our young people first and Conservative councillors have done that today on this committee.
“I was pleased to meet with many campaigners and will continue to be a strong voice for the nursery sector on Moray Council, especially when this comes before full council.
Moray MP Douglas Ross added: “As a father with children at an independent nursery provider in Moray myself, I was extremely concerned as to what would happen if the officer's recommendation of a zero per cent uplift had been given the green light.
"The volume of contact I have had from concerned providers and parents shows how worried they were about the council's plans and I'm pleased this outcome has been achieved.
“I engaged with providers ahead of this meeting and was shocked that they had been ignored by council officials. We have seen that happen at a national level too where SNP ministers have not addressed serious concerns that are coming loud and clear from the nursery sector about their future prospects.
“We cannot continue to put independent providers in this situation year after year, which creates huge anxieties for them.
"It is time for the SNP to deliver a fair funding deal for our local authorities to ensure that they have the resources to deliver first-class nursery education for youngsters, like my son receives.”