Since 2019, childcare premises such as day nurseries have not been required to pay business rates, thanks to the Welsh Governments small business rate relief scheme. This support has proved crucial for the sector, saving individual settings thousands of pounds per year, enabling them to continue their operations despite the rising cost of living. Therefore, we are incredibly glad to see the scheme being made permanent, reflecting a key call Early Years Wales were making on behalf of their members.
This announcement from the Welsh Government will be welcomed by all individuals in the sector, with staff within settings enabled to feel more permanency in their work and pay despite the tumultuous cost of living crisis. Most importantly, this support will hugely benefit children.
Childcare settings are a haven for child development, bringing together communities. Children experience significant benefits from attending high quality childcare settings, enhancing their cognitive and physical development through the ability to move, play, and make friends. Supporting the survival of settings is crucial, providing more children with the opportunity to access these developmental benefits.
CEO of Early Years Wales, David Goodger, said:
“I am really pleased to see permanent business rates relief for childcare settings announced by the Welsh Government. This support will come as a huge relief to our members, who have coped with the significant rise in the cost of living.
We are looking forward to continuing to work with the Welsh Government voicing the concerns of the childcare sector, making the case for further support of this nature to enable more children across our nation to access the full range of benefits high quality childcare provides.”
Leo Holmes, Head of Policy and Advocacy at Early Years Wales, said:
“The projected £3.4 million of savings for the sector will make a huge difference to settings across the UK. Our members will be very pleased with this policy. Having confirmed financial support in place will enable settings to help budget over the longer term, and help remedy the uncertainty associated with short term financial planning.”
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