Hillingdon Council Cabinet Member and Officer Decisions
SPECIAL URGENCY: Early Years Childcare Review
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Democratic Services
Location: Phase II
Ext: 0185
DDI: 01895 250185
My Ref: 563
To: COUNCILLOR IAN EDWARDS
LEADER OF THE COUNCIL
COUNCILLOR SUSAN O’BRIEN
CABINET MEMBER FOR CHILDREN, FAMILIES
AND EDUCATION
c.c. Cllr Heena Makwana, Chairman of Children,
Families and Education Select Committee
c.c. All Councillors
c.c. Claire Fry, Adult Services and Health Directorate
c.c. Sandra Taylor, Adult Services and Health
Directorate
Date: 4 August 2022
Special Urgency Key Decision request Form C
Formal notice of a key decision with insufficient notice & permission
to seek an immediate decision & waive scrutiny call-in requested
EARLY YEARS CHILDCARE REVIEW
Attached is a report requesting that a decision be made by you as an individual Cabinet Member.
The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England)
Regulations 2012 require that 28 clear days notice of a key decision is required before the decision
is made. However, this decision has not been given sufficient notice on the Cabinet’s Forward Plan.
The Chairman of the Children, Families and Education Select Committee has therefore been
notified in writing about this decision. They have kindly agreed that this 28 days notice is
impracticable and this decision can be considered under special urgency rules and cannot be
reasonably deferred for the reason set out below:
Reason for special urgency
The reason for urgency is so that as much notice as possible can be given to families
that will be impacted and to prevent a further intake of children into the services in
September.
You can therefore sign this decision from today and your decision will take immediate
effect, subject to call-in being waived
Please indicate your decision to enable me to arrange for the formal notice of decision to be
published.
Liz Penny
Democratic Services Officer
Title of Report: Early Years Childcare Review
Reasons for your decision: (e.g. as stated in report)
Alternatives considered and rejected: (e.g. as stated in report)
Permission to seek to waive any scrutiny call-in: Yes / No (please indicate)
Signed ………………………………………………………Date……………………..
Leader of the Council / Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education
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EARLY YEARS CHILDCARE REVIEW
Cabinet Member(s) Cllr Ian Edwards
Cllr Susan O’Brien
Cabinet Portfolio(s) Leader of the Council
Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education
Officer Contact(s) Claire Fry – Head of Child and Family Development Services
Papers with report Appendix A – Equalities Impact Assessment ~ children
Appendix B – Equalities Impact Assessment ~ staff
HEADLINES
Summary
The C ouncil operates three early years centres which, despite
several attempts to improve their viability, continue to operate at a
loss (£532k in 2021/2022). The Council’s direct provision amounts
to 1% (current occupancy) of the capacity in Hillingdon. A review of
the sufficiency in Hillingdon determines that the wider early years
market can absorb the provision directly provided by the C ouncil.
This paper recommends that the Council ceases operating its three
early years sites.
Putting our
Residents First
This report supports the following Council objectives of: Our People.
Financial Cost The cessation of direct Early Years Provision will remove the
corresponding £532k per annum losses from this operation, while
demand for services can be met by other providers. There will also
be a potential capital receipt against one of the sites.
Relevant Select
Committee
Children, Families and Education
Ward All wards
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education
approve ceasing provision of early years childcare [0-5] at Uxbridge Early Years Centre,
Nestles Avenue Early Years and Children’s Centre and, South Ruislip Early Years and
Children’s Centre with effect from 31 December 2022.
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Reasons for recommendation
• The Council being a direct provider of early years services has become increasingly
unsustainable. Previous reviews of the Council’s e arly years provision have implemented
changes to service delivery , including a staffing restructure in 2020, designed to move the
provision to a more viable model of operation. However, this has had limited success and the
centres are not financially viable, with the service continuing to operate at a deficit across all
three sites. The Council subsidised the provision in 2021/22 by £ 532k (£230k of which is a
budgeted subsidy and the remainder an additional pressure on budgets). In addition, the
services are provided from assets which can be released, or from which enhanced services
can be provided.
• In parallel the market has developed sufficient capacity to meet the entire demand , 96% of
which is rated good or outstanding. The Council’s provision only accounts for 1% of the market
(current occupancy) and the impact of the pandemic on this market has reduced the overall
demand, due to alternative options for childcare resulting fro m changing work patterns. The
Council has a statutory responsibility to ensure sufficiency of childcare for residents, but there
is no requirement for the Council to directly provide these services.
• If approved, implementation of the recommendation will ensure that a planned transition for
children and families to the wider availability of childcare can be managed over time with
minimal impact. Support will be provided by the Council to families about the types and
availability of childcare.
• The required equalities impact assessments (EIA) are appended.
Appendix A – Equalities Impact Assessment ~ children
Appendix B – Equalities Impact Assessment ~ staff
Alternative options considered / risk management
• The Council could continue to deliver Early Years provision f rom the current three centres –
this is not recommended due to their operating at a deficit and there being sufficiency in the
Borough.
• The Council could release the services to be delivered by the private sector, but it is likely that
this may only be commercially feasible for one o ut of three of the sites. One due to the
condition of the building and the other due to high levels of existing alternative provision in
proximity.
Democratic compliance / previous authority
• Authority was granted by Cabinet in March 2022 to progress the development of a Family Hub
on the site of the previous Asha Day Centre, located on the Hayes Campus of Uxbridge
College. This decision was subject to releasing the Nestles Avenue site and the relocation of
services.
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• This would ordinarily be a Cabinet decision as defined by the Council’s Constitution. In the
absence of a Cabinet meeting during the summer, which would usually consider such matters,
the Leader of the Council and relevant Cabinet Member(s) are authorised to make suc h
decisions, also reporting them back to a subsequent Cabinet meeting for ratification for further
transparency.
Select Committee comments
• A report was presented to the previous Families, Education & Wellbeing Select Committee in
February 2022, which included an overview of the staffing restructure that took place across
the Early Years provision in 2020.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
REVIEW OF COUNCIL RUN EARLY YEARS CHILDCARE PROVISION
Summary
1. The London Borough of Hillingdon currently provides Early Years Childcare services at 3 sites
within the Borough: Uxbridge, South Ruislip and Hayes. Based on the current occupancy rate,
the Council currently provides circa 1% of the total childcare in the Borough, with an average
attendance of 88 children a day in total across all three sites.
2. Providing Early Years Nursery childcare is not a core function of the Council, it is not a
statutory requirement to deliver these services. It is a statutory requirement that the Council
ensures that there is sufficient childcare available to working parents across the borough. The
Family Information Service manages and maintains the information on the availability of
childcare provision for parents to access.
3. Base d on the 2021/22 outturn figures, the gross cost of the provision is £1,525k netted down
by income of £993k resulting in a loss of £532k. It is anticipated that this financial position will
continue in 2022/23. There is a net nil General Fund budget provision for this service and as
such, the loss of £532k results in an equal pressure on the Council’s General Fund.
4. Previous business cases have detailed a range of changes targeted at improving the financial
viability of these services. The proposals included cost reductions from re- negotiating the
corporate cleaning and catering contracts and reviews of staffing structures. However, these
changes have not delivered sufficient efficiencies to make the services viable and therefore
this review considers alternative options for the services.
5. A review of the marketplace identified that there is sufficient provision available across
Hillingdon, 96% of which is rated as good or outstanding as of August 2021, providing parents
with a rich element of choice and variety.
6. The report details the analysis of the current provision and the capacity in the local market,
considering several approaches to ensure the Council’s statutory responsibilities are met; as
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well as tackle the significant budget pressure of the current operating model, and makes
recommendations on a site-by-site basis.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS OF LOCAL CAPACITY
7. The scope of this review included children’s day care provision in the locality surrounding:
• Uxbridge Early Years Centre
• South Ruislip Early Years and Children’s Centre
• Nestles Avenue Early Years and Children’s Centre
Capacity across the Borough
8. The Council has a statutory duty to ensure sufficient childcare, in so far as is reasonably
practicable, for working parents, or parents studyin g or training for employment, for children
aged 0-14 (or up to 18 for disabled children). To calculate sufficiency of childcare, the following
factors are considered:
• Supply - the number of Ofsted registered childcare places in different types of childcare setting
(e.g. day nursery, childminder etc.) by ward. A calculation is made to estimate how many
places each setting offers by age group e.g. under 2's, 2-year-olds, 3–4-year-olds.
• Demand - GLA population data is used to identify the population of children aged under 5 by
ward and by age group e.g. 3– 4-year-olds. This is compared to the employment rate to
determine approximately how many children are in working households and therefore may
need childcare. Parental demand for childcare is measured using t he proportion of parents
who wish to use childcare as identified by the national DfE survey of parents.
9. Supply and demand data is compared to understand sufficiency of childcare in each age
group.
10. Detailed analysis of provision for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds identified that:
• Hillingdon has the 10
th highest take up of the 19 Outer London authorities for 15 hours free
childcare for three and four-year olds with 83% take up.
• Of those families on a low-income with two-year-olds who are eligible for free childcare, 50%
were accessing this service as of January 2022.
• 60% of children eligible for 30 hours free childcare h as taken up a place. Feedback from
parents requiring this level of support has been that they have been able to find a place for
their child.
11. Overall, the amount of childcare provision available in the borough has remained at a similar
level over the past couple of years. As of August 2021, there were 7,620 childcare places in
the borough across childminders, day nurseries, playgroups and out of school settings (Ofsted
data).
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12. The mix of pr ovision has changed with a slight reduction in the number of registered
childminders and corresponding increase in nursery places.
13. It should be noted that whilst it is clearly beneficial in enabling children to be ready, willing and
able to learn when they start school, not all families choose to take up their child’s place.
14. It is not possible to determine the number of vacancies that exist within the market across all
providers at any given time, as this fluctuates as residents move in and out of areas and
demand changes in accordance with parental work patterns and commitments. Additionally,
not all families choose to access childcare where they live but may opt to access services near
to their place of work.
15. Seasonal fluctuations impact childcare availability and take-up throughout the year. There are
typically more vacancies in September, as children move on to school and school nursery
classes, but places may be more difficult to secure from April to July.
16. A further consideration is the predicted change in population of the number of children aged
under 5, which is due to fall in most areas of the borough over the next 5 years, which may in
turn impact the levels of sufficiency.
17. The Council works closely with childcare providers, providing support and advice in respect of
access to funding and matters of regulation, as well as training and support to develop and
sustain high quality provision.
18. Should the decision be made to cease direct delivered early year s provision, the Council will
work closely with affected parents and local providers to manage a phased transition for
children into alternative provision.
Current in-house delivery model
19. The Council currently provides education and childcare through its 3 Early Years Centres
located in Hayes, South Ruislip and Uxbridge. The centres provide places for children to
access the government funded Early Education Entitlement scheme, as well as privately
funded places for children aged 6 months to 5 y ears. The quality of the provision has been
rated Good by Ofsted.
20. At full capacity the LBH in- house provision offers 102 places a day across the 3 sites and at
its current occupancy rate of on average 87%, this equates to 88 children per day. Whilst at
full occupancy the Council would be providing 1. 3% of the overall provision in the borough,
this reduces to 1% based on current occupancy levels.
21. Running a commercially viable, high-quality service is challenging and margins are small, even
for private sector providers. As such, the service has struggled to evolve the culture from its
original roots of an in-house non-income generating service, to an efficient, modern service.
22. Following an independent review of the Early Years Centres position in the childcare market
in 2019, the capacity of the service was reduced, and the delivery model standardised across
all three nurseries, with a view to de veloping a sustainable business model that could be
extended in the future if required.
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23. A subsequent staffing restructure in 2020 supported a resetting of the culture of the service
and establishing a team that could deliver in a way that can compete favo urably on all levels
with its private sector comparators.
24. A service Manager was appointed for the nurseries who commenced in post in December
2020, joining the Council from a London- wide chain of social enterprise nurseries, and the
service has benefited from their knowledge and expertise to help move the business towards
a more sustainable and financially viable operating model.
Take up of in-house provision
25. The admissions criteria for all` Early Years provision gives priority to vulnerable families,
children in need and requests for full time placements. The service experiences higher
demand for part -time and mid -week placements with overall under subscription for Fridays,
which reflects the patterns of many working parents who continue to maximise flexible working
options and use informal/family care alongside nursery placements to meet their childcare
needs.
26. Vulnerable and disadvantaged children are supported in all nursery settings in the Borough,
therefore the mix of children currently in the in-house services is consistent with the profile of
all other provision in the borough.
27. A snapshot of occupancy in June 2022 shows that all three centres were operating above the
minimum occupancy rate of 80%; Uxbridge at 83%, South Ruislip at 93% and Nestles at 81%.
28. However, despite all three centres hav ing significantly improved their occupancy position in
the past year, the service is still operating at a loss. This is due to the high costs associated
with staffing and fixed overheads.
29. The service has improved its approach to admissions management and settling new children.
Parental enquiries are responded to quickly and places are offered as soon as they become
available. However, parents may be seeking spaces for specific days, and if their chosen slots
are well attended, they may need to wait for a place to become available.
30. The service also sees peaks in admissions and availability of places in August/September as
children leave to start school or take up a place in a school nursery where older siblings attend.
Current in-house operating model
31. Despite significant improvement in occupancy over the last financial year, the provision
continues to run at a loss on all three sites and with the current overheads the centres cannot
break even. The current shortfall from the last financial year 2021/22 across all three sites is
£532k which is covered in the base General Fund budget.
32. The cleaning and catering contracts for the Centre’s are part of corporate contracts, which
have been retendered in recent year s. Previously anticipated savings were not realised and
as a result the pressure on overheads has been retained. Any further remodelling of the
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staffing structure is unlikely to reduce costs, given the current recruitment and retention
challenges within the sector.
Review Outcomes and Considerations
33. The review of the Council’s in-house childcare provision highlights that previously anticipated
reductions in overheads were not able to be realised and, whilst it is acknowledged that the
service has pursued a more commercial approach and achieved a much-improved occupancy
position, the outturn position continues to be in deficit, placing a financial burden on the base
General Fund.
34. The Council provides a small proportion of childcare places across the Borough, and therefore
the overall impact on sufficiency across the Borough would be low should the Council cease
provision of these services. The current capacity in the childcare market is able to absorb the
demand.
35. Both Nestles Avenue and South Ruislip also have children’s centres co- located on site. A
previous proposal agreed by Cabinet to progress the development of a Family Hub on the site
of the former Asha Day Centre, at Uxbridge College Campus in Hayes, will enable the
relocation of children’s centre services from the Nestles Avenue site.
36. The proposal for South Ruislip would be to expand the current children centre into the vacant
Early Years Centre space and create a Family Hub to serve families in the North of the
borough. It is anticipated that the existing site will need to be refurbished to accommodate this
development and any costs associated will be included in subsequent reports on the sites,
should approval be given to proceed.
37. Ceasing the service from Nestles Avenue Children’s Centre and Uxbridge Early Years Centre
locations would therefore release these sites for disposal and provide revenue for further
Family Hub capital works programmes.
38. It is acknowledged that ceasing delivery of the Early Years provision would have an impact on
the 29 Council staff currently employed in Nestles Early Years Nursery, Uxbridge Early Years
Nursery and South Ruislip Early Years Nursery (24 full -time, 5 part-time). Where vacancies
exist, there would be opportunities for redeployment within the children’s centre/family hub
programme or alternative roles across the Council as appropriate. However, it is anticipated
that some staff may leave via means of redundancy.
Financial Implications
39. The Council subsidised the provision in 2021/22 by £532k (£230k of which is a budgeted
subsidy and the remainder an additional pressure on budgets). The proposal in this paper
removes the subsidy and cost pressure in full and delivers the £230k within the MTFF.
40. The assets no longer required for service use will be reviewed as part of the Council’s wider
strategic review of the asset base.
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RESIDENT BENEFIT & CONSULTATION
The benefit or impact upon Hillingdon residents, service users and communities
It is noted that ce asing delivery of the Council’s directly delivered childcare will have an impact
on those children currently attending; however, the review found that there is currently sufficient
capacity within the market . Any families currently using the services in question wil l be fully
supported in finding alternative arrangements.
Consultation carried out or required
As the decision relates to decommissioning a service, it is not appropriate to consult or engage
with children and families prior to seeking member approval for an in-principal decision. Equalities
Impact Assessments for the affected staff group and childr en accessing childcare in the three
Council run Early Years Centres are included as an appendix to this report.
All affected families will be supported to find alternative solutions to childcare in a timely way that
does not leave them unduly impacted.
Staff impacted by the cessation of the provision will be formally consulted with and supported to
explore opportunities for redeployment across the wider service and Council as a whole.
CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance notes the recommendation to cease the delivery of early years provision from
Uxbridge, South Ruislip and Hayes sites. The provision has been subject to previous reviews,
which have identified and implemented changes to improve the viability of the service. Limitations
of the current building infrastructure related to service provision, including underpinning, outdated
buildings and historic listed walls which have led to increased cost of delivery.
Ceasing the delivery of Early Years provision will align with the MTFF and ensure that the £532k
loss is eliminated as a budget pressure. In addition, the decant from the Uxbridge, Nestles
Avenue and South Ruislip EYC sites will result in these assets become surplus to current service
requirements, and in the event that they are not required for other provision in the future would
be available for disposal. Any such disposals would generate capital receipts which could be
reinvested to finance either the Council’s capital or wider transformation programmes.
A review of the marketplace identified there is sufficient Early Years provision across Hillingdon,
therefore the closure will not impact negatively and although the Council is responsible for
ensuring sufficient provision is available, direct delivery is not a requirement.
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Legal
This report recommends that the Council ceases to provide childcare services. Section 8 of the
Childcare Act 2006 enables the Council to provide childcare where either "no other person is
willing to provide the childcare" or "if another person is willing to do so, that in the circumstances,
it is appropriate for the local authority to provide the childcare".
The report contains detailed information on the provision of childcare within Hillingdon. In deciding
whether the Council should continue to exercise its power to provide childcare, Cabinet Members
must be satisfied that either appropriate alternative provision is not available within the Borough
or that the circumstances prevailing in Hillingdon are such that it is appropriate for the Council to
continue to provide childcare. In reaching this decision Cabinet are also entitled to consider the
financial implications for the Council of continuing to provide childcare.
Infrastructure / Asset Management
Corporate property has reviewed this report and notes the recommendation to cease to provide
childcare thereby reducing costs and releasing sites for further review and disposal. The
proposals would release the Uxbridge site for review and possible disposal, with associated
reduction in revenue maintenance costs and achieving a capital receipt.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
NIL.
TITLE OF ANY APPENDICES
Appendix A – Equalities Impact Assessment ~ children
Appendix B – Equalities Impact Assessment ~ staff
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APPENDIX A – Equalities Impact Assessment (children)
Equality and Human Rights
Impact Assessment for
Early Years Childcare Nurseries ~ Children
STEP A) Description of what is to be assessed and its relevance to equality
What is being assessed? Please tick
Review of a service Staff restructure Decommissioning a service
Changing a policy Tendering for a new service A strategy or plan
The Council currently delivers Early Years Childcare (nurseries) at 3 sites within the
Borough: Uxbridge, South Ruislip and Hayes, providing 102 childcare places daily for
children aged 6 months to 5 years. Based on the current occupancy rate, the Council
currently provides circa 1% of the total childcare in the borough, with an average
attendance of 88 children a day in total across all three sites.
Children attend the nurseries for privately funded places and for universally funded 15-
and 30-hour places for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds via the Free Early Education Entitlement
Scheme.
Providing childcare is not a core function of the Council, and there is no statutory
requirement to deliver these services. However, the Council has a sufficiency duty
under th e Childcare Act of 2006 to ensure sufficient childcare provision across the
borough. The Family Information Service manages and maintains the information on
the availability of childcare for parents to access.
Who is accountable? E.g., Head of Service or Corporate Director
Claire Fry ~ Head of Service, Child and Family Development
Date assessment completed and approved by accountable person
20th July 2022
Names and job titles of people carrying out the assessment
Claire Fry ~ Head of Service, Child and Family Development
Lisa Swales ~Service Manager, Childcare
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A.1) What are the main aims and intended benefits of what you are assessing?
Decommissioning the Service:
Based on the 2021/22 outturn figures, the gross cost of the provision is £1,525k netted
down by income of £993k resulting in a loss of £532k. It is anticipated that this financial
position will continue in 2022/23. There is a net nil General Fund budget provision for this
service and as such, the loss of £532k results in an equal pressure on the Council’s
General Fund.
Previous business cases have detailed a range of changes targeted at improving the
financial viability of these services. The proposals included cost reductions from r e-
negotiating the corporate cleaning and catering contracts and reviews of staffing
structures. However, these changes have not delivered savings sufficient to improve
financial viability and therefore this review considers alternative options for the services.
A review of the marketplace indicates that there is sufficient provision available across
Hillingdon, 96% of which is rated as good or outstanding as of August 2021, providing
parents with a rich element of choice and variety.
Therefore, by decommissioning the childcare directly delivered by the Council, the
intended benefits are to:
Release capacity to the wider childcare market thereby supporting the sustainability
of local providers to deliver childcare for families within the local communities.
Release highly qualified early years trained staff to the market, thereby supporting
the delivery of childcare provision.
Continue to have due regard to the Childcare Sufficiency duty through ongoing
support to providers in the market.
Reduce budget pressures on the Council’s General Fund by ceasing to operate a
service that is unable to operate within budget and generates an overspend year on
year in excess of £500K.
Deliver cost efficiencies through the asset transformation workstream by repurposing
or releasing the current nursery sites.
A.2) Who are the service users or staff affected by what you are assessing? What is their
equality profile?
Equality profile of the children who will be affected by the proposed closures who will be
on role in September 2022.
NB This data does not include any planned new starters, from September 2022
onwards.
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Protected Characteristic Number of
children
Percentage of
total
Age of Children
Under 2 years of age 26 25.4%
2-3 years of age 40 39%
3-4 years of age 50 49.0%
4 and over 0 0
Total children 102 100%
Ethnicity
Asian/ Asian British 44 43.1%
Black/Black British 13 12.7%
Mixed 9 8.8%
Other 5 4.9%
Total BAME 71 69.6%
White 24 23.5%
Not given 7 6.8%
Total children 102 100%
Disability
No 98 96%
Yes 4 3.9%
Gender
Female 45 44%
Male 57 55.8%
Total Children 102 100%
Equality profile of children aged 0-4 in Hillingdon (as per the GLA Population Projections
~ released 2017)
Protected Characteristic Number of
Children
Percentage of
total
Age of Children
all 0-4 22648 100%
Ethnicity
white British 5899 26.0%
white Irish 112 0.5%
white other 1623 7.2%
black African 1532 6.8%
black Caribbean 361 1.6%
black other 973 4.3%
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Indian 3365 14.9%
Pakistani 1174 5.2%
Bangladeshi 350 1.5%
Chinese 277 1.2%
other Asian 2156 9.5%
white & black African mixed 509 2.2%
white & black Caribbean
mixed 666 2.9%
white & Asian mixed 983 4.3%
other mixed 1141 5.0%
Arab 663 2.9%
other 864 3.8%
TOTAL BAME 15014 66.3%
Gender
Female 48.8%
Male 51.2%
A.3) Who are the stakeholders in this assessment and what is their interest in it?
Stakeholders Interest
Children and Families
• That children receive local high-
quality education and childcare.
• The service provides childcare at a
lower cost compared to the local
childcare market.
• Many families live within a close
distance and can walk to the
nurseries.
• Decommissioning the service will
mean that families will need to seek
alternative childcare arrangements for
their child.
Head of Service
To ensure the sufficiency of childcare
in line with the Childcare Act 2006.
To address the current budget gap
and ensure services operate within
budget and are financially viable.
To ensure that families who are
affected are supported to find
alternative provision.
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Director
To ensure the sufficiency of childcare
in line with the Childcare Act 2006.
To address the current budget gap
and ensure services operate within
budget and are financially viable.
To ensure that families who are
affected are supported to find
alternative provision.
Cabinet member
To ensure the sufficiency of childcare
in line with the Childcare Act 2006.
To address the current budget gap
and ensure services operate within
budget and are financially viable.
To ensure that families who are
affected are supported to find
alternative provision.
Leader
To ensure the sufficiency of childcare
in line with the Childcare Act 2006.
To address the current budget gap
and ensure services operate within
budget and are financially viable.
To ensure that families who are
affected are supported to find
alternative provision.
A.4) Which protected characteristics or community issues are relevant to the assessment? in
the box.
Age Sex
Disability
Sexual Orientation
Gender reassignment
Marriage or civil partnership Carers
Pregnancy or maternity Community Cohesion
Race/Ethnicity
Community Safety
Religion or belief Human Rights
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STEP B) Consideration of information; data, research, consultation, engagement
B.1) Consideration of information and data - what have you got and what is it telling you?
The data is reflective of the cohort of children on role who will be remaining in the
nursery in September, following the departure of many children in July and August to
take up school places. Whilst there are new children who are due to start attending
the nurseries from September, these children have yet to be formally registered and
as such there is no agreement in place for sharing protected information until
contracts are signed and children have started.
Age Analysis:
Service users are made up of a mix of children aged six months to five years of age.
The largest of these age groups are children aged 3 and 4 at 49% equating to 50
children. However, compared to the total number of children of this age group across
Hillingdon 50 children represents a small number of children.
2- and 3-year-olds make up 39% which equates to 40 children across the service,
with a large proportion of children accessing their childcare through the two-year-old
offer scheme.
Under twos are the smallest group of children at 25% which equates to 26 children
across the service.
Overall compared to the numbers of children accessing childcare across Hillingdon
these numbers add up to less than 1% of children accessing childcare.
Gender Analysis:
There is an even split of numbers between girls and boys across the nurseries with
girls making up 44% of the cohort (45 children), and boys at 55.8% (57children). This
is slightly outside of the borough profile which shows 48.8% of children are girls and
51.2% of children are boys.
Analysis of Ethnicity
The largest declared ethnic group within the group of affected children are those of
from the BAME communities at 69.6% which incorporates children of Asian/Asian
British heritage at 43.1 %. This is broadly in line with the 2017 GLA borough profile
where children from BAME communities represent 66.3% of all children aged 0-4.
Analysis of Disabilities
In total there are four children who have a declared disability or diagnosed condition;
however, within the remaining group of children there is a small group of children
who are currently being supported at SEN support.
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It is hard to draw any statistical significance from the data presented as the numbers
of children are small especially when compared to the borough as whole. Similarly
given that the proposal is to decommission the service, all children will equally be
impacted by the need to seek alternative childcare arrangements.
Consultation
B.2) Did you carry out any consultation or engagement as part of this assessment?
Please tick NO YES
Providing childcare is not a core function of the Council, and there is no statutory
requirement to deliver these services. However, the Council has a sufficiency duty
under the Childcare Act of 2006 to ensure sufficient childcare provision across the
borough, which will be met.
As the decision relates to decommissioning a service, it is not appropriate to consult
or engage with children and families prior to seeking member approval for an in-
principal decision. Should the proposal be agreed, then an engagement plan of how
a planned closure with appropriate support will be undertaken and shared with users
to gain their view on how best the Council can support them into new childcare
arrangements.
B.3) Provide any other information to consider as part of the assessment
Sufficiency Context
The local early years market has developed sufficient capacity to meet the entire
demand, 96% of which is rated good or outstanding. The council’s provision only
accounts for 1% (current occupancy) and the impact of the pandemic on this market
has reduced the overall demand, due to alternative options for childcare resulting from
changing work patterns. The Council has a statutory responsibility to ensure sufficiency
of childcare for residents, but there is no requirement for the Council to directly provide
these services.
Legal context
The council has a public duty to pay due regard to the need to eliminate
discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations (Equality Act
2010)
Financial context - standard text
Since 2010, the Busines s Improvement Delivery (BID) Programme has driven
transformation across the Council, reducing costs and improving efficiency to ensure
that in an environment of increased expenditure from population growth and
inflationary uplifts we continue to deliver high quality services that put residents first.
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Currently the service operates in deficit with the end of year position for 2021/22
resulting in a overspend of £532K. Whilst this is a slightly improved position on the
previous year, the service continues to operate in deficit causing a significant
pressure on the Councill’s General Fund and adding to the budget gap.
C) Assessment
What did you find in B1? Who is affected? Is there, or likely to be, an impact on certain groups?
C.1) Describe any NEGATIVE impacts (actual or potential):
Equality Group
Impact on this group and actions you need to take
Children with
Disabilities
The decommissioning of the service may have a
disproportionately negative impact on children with a disability or
special educational need, as a change of nursery provider could
impact upon their learning environment, routines and travel plans.
We will carry out regular engagement activities with this group to
ensure everyone is fully informed of the changes and supported
in the transition through working with the Early Years Inclusion
team and Families Information Service to broker alternative
places and support transition.
All early year's settings have a duty under the Early Years
Foundation Stage Framework and Code of Practice for Special
Educational Needs and Disabilities to provide an inclusive
learning environment practice and work with partner agencies to
support children’s individual needs.
Ethnicity – BAME
communities
Children form BAME communities represent 69.6% of the total
cohort of affected children and therefore they may potentially be
disproportionately adversely impacted by the decommissioning of
the service. However, this group is not significantly
disproportionately represented when compared to the BAME
profile of all children 0-4 years across the borough, which is
66.3%.
All children will be impacted by the closure of the nurseries and
support will be provided to families by FIS to access alternative
childcare to mitigate against this.
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C.2) Describe any POSITIVE impacts
Equality Group Impact on this group and actions you need to take
Enables the remodelling of the Councils children &
family wider offer that incorporates the locality model to
serve families with support locally.
Promotes opportunities for local schools to enter the
early years education service.
Release capacity to the wider childcare market thereby
supporting the sustainability of local providers to deliver
childcare for families within the local communities.
Release highly qualified early years trained staff to the
market, thereby supporting the delivery of childcare
provision.
Continue to have due regard to the Childcare
Sufficiency duty through ongoing support to providers
in the market.
Reduce budget pressures on the Council’s General
Fund by ceasing to operate a service that is unable to
operate within budget and generates an overspend
year on year in excess of £500K.
D) Conclusions
We recognise the impact of decommissioning a service and the challenges that the affected
children and families will face; some families have attended the nurseries for an extended
period years with multiple children, and the nurseries in Hayes and Uxbridge have been in situ
for many years and are therefore well known within the community. Therefore, the impact of the
cessation of the business is not to be underestimated. However, as stated, the numbers
attending the centres in question amount to only 1% of the overall capacity in the borough and
there is sufficient capacity in the borough to accommodate the alternatives required.
Children and Families will be fully supported throughout the consultation process and the
subsequent winding down of the business should the proposal be agreed. Access to the
Families information Service, and Inclusion Team will help prepare them in seeking alternative
childcare placements outside the Council.
Signed and dated: Claire Fry 20/07/2022
Name and position: Claire Fry ~ Head of Child and Family Development Service
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APPENDIX B – Equalities Impact Assessment (staff)
Equality and Human Rights
Impact Assessment for
Early Years Childcare Nurseries ~ Staff
STEP A) Description of what is to be assessed and its relevance to equality
What is being assessed? Please tick
Review of a service Staff restructure Decommissioning a service
Changing a policy Tendering for a new service A strategy or plan
Early Years Childcare (nurseries)
The Council currently delivers Early Years Childcare (nurseries) at 3 sites within the
Borough: Uxbridge, South Ruislip and Hayes, providing 102 childcare places daily for
children aged 6 months to 5 years. Based on the current occupancy rate, the Council
currently provides circa 1% of the total childcare in the borough, with an average
attendance of 88 children a day in total across all three sites.
Children attend the nurseries for privately funded places and for universally funded 15-
and 30-hour places for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds via the Free Early Education Entitlement
Scheme. The nursery prioritises admission for children with additional needs and those
who may be considered vulnerable e.g.,
children in need of protection supported by
children’s social care.
Providing childcare is not a core function of the Council, and there is no statutory
requirement to deliver these services. However, the Council has a sufficiency duty
under the Childcare Act of 2006 to ensure sufficient childcare provision across the
borough. The Family Information Service manages and maintains the information on
the availability of childcare for parents to access.
This assessment considers the equalities impact on decommissioning the service.
Who is accountable? E.g., Head of Service or Corporate Director
Claire Fry ~ Head of Service for Child and Family Development
Date assessment completed and approved by accountable person
20 July 2022
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Names and job titles of people carrying out the assessment
Claire Fry ~ Head of Service for Child and Family Development
Lisa Swales ~Service Manager for Childcare (nurseries)
A.1) What are the main aims and intended benefits of what you are assessing?
Decommissioning the Service:
Based on the 2021/22 outturn figures, the gross cost of the provision is £1,525k netted
down by income of £993k resulting in a loss of £532k. It is anticipated that this financial
position will continue in 2022/23. There is a net nil General Fund budget provision for
this service and as such, the loss of £532k results in an equal pressure on the Council’s
General Fund.
Previous business cases have detailed a range of changes targeted at improving the
financial viability of these services. The proposals included cost reductions from re-
negotiating the corporate cle
aning and catering contracts and reviews of staffing
structures. However, these changes have not sufficiently improved the financial
viability of the services and therefore this review considers alternative options.
A review of the marketplace indicates that there is sufficient provision available across
Hillingdon, 96% of which is rated as good or outstanding as of August 2021, providing
parents with a rich element of choice and variety.
Therefore, by decommissioning the childcare directly delivered by the Council, the
intended benefits are to:
Release capacity to the wider childcare market thereby supporting the
sustainability of local providers to deliver childcare for families within the local
communities.
Release highly qualified early years trained staff to the market, thereby supporting
the delivery of childcare provision.
Continue to have due regard to the Childcare Sufficiency duty through ongoing
support to providers in the market.
Reduce budget pressures on the Council’s General Fund by ceasing to operate a
service that is unable to operate within budget and generates an overspend year
on year in excess of £500K.
Deliver cost efficiencies through the asset transformation workstream by
repurposing or releasing the current nursery sites.
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A.2) Who are the service users or staff affected by what you are assessing? What is their
equality profile?
Table 1 illustrates the profile of the current workforce in the early year's centres by sex,
age, race and disability (where declared).
Table 1 – Profile of current EYC workforce
Protected Characteristics Number of Staff Percentages
Gender
Female
Male
29
0
100%
0
Total number of staff 29 100%
Age Band
16-18 0 0%
19-21 0 0%
22-24 2 6.9%
25-34 4 13.79%
35-44 7 24.14%
45-54 7 24.14%
55-64 8 27.59%
65+ 1 3.45%
Ethnic origin
Asian/ Asian British 3 10.34%
Black/Black British 0 0%
Mixed 3 10.34%
Other 0 0%
Total BAME 6 20.69%
White 18 65.07%
Not given 5 17.24%
Disability
No 29 100%
Yes 0 0
Table 2 illustrates the profile of the current workforce when compared to the Adult
Services and Health directorate and the whole Council.
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Table 2 – Profile of affected workforce, Adult Services and Health and whole
Council
Protected
Characteristic
Early Years Centre
Staff
Adult Services and
Health
Council
Gender
Female 29 380 1635
100% 82.97% 63.45%
Male 0 78 942
0% 17.03% 36.55%
Total 29 458 2577
Age Band
16-18 0 1 5
0.00% 0.22% 0.19%
19-21 0 0 21
0.00% 0.00% 0.81%
22-24 2 6 71
6.90% 1.31% 2.76%
25-34 4 62 467
13.79% 13.54% 18.12%
35-44 7 129 597
24.14% 28.17% 23.17%
45-54 7 121 645
24.14% 26.42% 25.03%
55-64 8
View Decision / Minutes Text
Executive Decision Notice – 4 August 2022 Page 1 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk OFFICIAL EXECUTIVE DECISION NOTICE PUBLISHED BY DEMOCRATIC SERVICES Notice is hereby given that the following decision(s) have been made today by Cabinet Members at the London Borough of Hillingdon: Title of decision Early Years Childcare Review Reference No. 563 Date of decision Thursday 4 August 2022 Call-in expiry date SPECIAL URGENCY N/A – This decision comes into immediate effect Relevant Select Committee(s) Children, Families and Education Select Committee Relevant Ward(s) All Decision made Cabinet Members making the decision The Leader of the Council , in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education APPROVED That the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education approved ceasing provision of early years childcare [0- 5] at Uxbridge Early Years Centre, Nestles Avenue Early Years and Children’s Centre and, South Ruislip Early Years and Children’s Centre with effect from 31 December 2022. Reason for decision The Council has operated three Early Years Centres which, despite several attempts to improve their viability, have continued to operate at a loss. The Council’s direct provision amounts to 1% (current occupancy) of the capacity in Hillingdon. A review of the sufficiency in Hillingdon has determined that the wider early years market can absorb the provision directly provided by the Council. Previous reviews of the Council’s early years provision have implemented changes to service delivery, including a staffing restructure in 2020, designed to move the provision to a more viable model of operation. However, this has had limited success and the centres are not financially viable, with the service continuing to operate at a deficit across all three sites. Executive Decision Notice – 4 August 2022 Page 2 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk In parallel, the market has developed sufficient capacity to meet the entire demand, 96% of which is rated good or outstanding. The impact of the pandemic on this market has also reduced the overall demand, due to alternative options for childcare resulting from changing work patterns. The Council has a statutory responsibility to ensure sufficiency of childcare for residents, but there is no requirement for the Council to directly provide these services. Considering the report and recommendations from officers , Cabinet Members, therefore, agreed that the Council should cease operating its three Early Years Centre sites. It was noted that ceasing the provision of early years childcare at this particular time would ensure that a planned transition for children and families to the wider availability of childcare can be managed with minimal impact. It was noted that s upport will be provided by the Council to families about the types and availability of childcare. Alternative options considered and rejected Cabinet Members could have decided to continue to deliver Early Years provision from the three centres but this was not deemed viable due to their operating at a deficit and there being sufficiency in the Borough. Cabinet Members could have also released the services to be delivered by the private sector, but considered that this would likely be commercially feasible for one out of three of the sites , considering factors such as building conditions and high levels of existing alternative provision in their proximity. Classification Part 1 - Public Link to associated report Link to report – here. Relevant Officer contact & Directorate Claire Fry – Adult Services and Health Directorate Any interest declared by the Cabinet Member(s) / dispensation granted N/A Implementation of decision & scrutiny call-in [Internal Use only] When can this decision be This decision was taken under special urgency procedures and deemed urgent by the Leader of the Council. Executive Decision Notice – 4 August 2022 Page 3 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk implemented by officers? The reason for urgency was so that as much notice as possible could be given to families that will be impacted and to prevent a further intake of children into the services in September. Agreement that the matter was urgent and could not reasonably deferred, along with the waiver of the scrutiny call-in period, was also granted by the Chairman of the Children, Families and Education Select Committee. THIS DECISION THEREFORE COMES INTO IMMEDIATE EFFECT. Further information These decisions, where applicable, have been taken under The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012. This is the formal notice by the Council of the above executive decision, including links to the reports where applicable. If you would like more information on this decision, please contact Democratic Services on 01895 250636 or email: democratic@hillingdon.gov.uk . Circulation of this decision notice is to a variety of people including Members of the Council, Corporate & Executive Directors, Officers and the Public. Copies are also placed on the Council’s website. Democratic Services London Borough of Hillingdon Civic Centre High Street Uxbridge UB8 1UW