| SPOTLIGHT |
Nottinghamshire County Council has been told to repay a mother half the additional charges she paid for her child’s nursery care for nearly two years, following an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman concluded that the council did not properly oversee the nursery’s charging policy.
The report noted that the child “should have received 30 hours a week free under the national free early education entitlement scheme”, but the child’s mother complained she was given no option but to pay for ‘consumables’ and the nursery’s invoicing was not clear or transparent on this matter.
She asked the council to investigate, and it did identify some problems with the way the nursery was charging parents and asked the nursery to amend its terms. However, the Ombudsman investigation has revealed that the council’s own investigation “did not do enough to get to the bottom of the problem.”
The council did not seek to resolve the matter for the complainant, including getting the losses she suffered reimbursed, the Ombudsman found.
Furthermore, it did not do enough to “prevent the issues reoccurring by ensuring the nursery met its Local Provider Agreement terms.”
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “In this case the council did not do enough to work with the mum and the nursery to resolve the case, and instead simply referred her complaint back to the nursery.
“It is the council’s duty to work with providers to ensure their invoices and receipts are clear, transparent and itemised.
“I now ask the council to consider my report at the highest level to ensure it learns from this complaint so other parents are not disadvantaged in a similar way.”
To remedy the injustice, the Ombudsman concluded that the council should pay the mother a combined £200 for the time and trouble and distress felt and review the nursery’s policies and practices to ensure it complies with the council’s provider agreement.
It also told the council it should refund half the additional charges she has paid between January 2020 to the date her child left the nursery in February 2022.
Irene Kakoullis, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Group Manager, Early Childhood Services, said: “The council accepts the conclusions and recommendations of the Ombudsman report and acknowledges that there were failures.
“We are in contact with the complainant and will be apologising for the mistakes made as well as reimbursing the costs as recommended by the report. The report is due to be discussed fully at the council’s Governance and Ethics Committee at the end of the month.”
Lottie Winson
