From September next year households with a combined income of £75,000 or more will no longer be entitled to receive 20 hours’ free private nursery care for their children in the year before they start school, as set out in the Nursery Education Fund.
Deputy Bryans conceded that his department had not undertaken full analysis of what the repercussions on parents and private nurseries might be, while education director Justin Donovan said he could not give assurances that further cost-cutting measures would not be introduced by Education.
Having been summoned to address the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel in the States Building by its chairman, Deputy Louise Doublet, the Education Minister said he would ‘have loved to have avoided making the cuts’.
When asked by Deputy Sam Mézec whether Education had considered the impact the amendments to the NEF could have on the careers of working mothers, Deputy Bryans said: ‘No, not yet.’
