Clause 61 - Applications for registration on the general register: childminders
Childcare Bill
9:15 am
Maria Eagle (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Children and Families), Department for Education and Skills; Liverpool, Garston, Labour)
I hope that I can provide hon. Members with some reassurance. The hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Mr. Gibb) had a little flight of fantasy about ever-escalating costs. He appeared to overlook the fact that we are talking about a regulation-making power, as he himself mentioned. The fees are set in regulations, not by Ofsted, so there is no doubt that the House and Ministers will have a rather large say over what they should be. They will be able to scrutinise them as appropriate when the regulations are introduced and thereafter.
If I say a little about the current situation, it might give the hon. Gentleman some assurance that the fees are not about to escalate out of all reasonableness. Day care providers currently pay £121 to register with Ofsted and £94 annually thereafter. However, the registration costs are approximately £1,500, as are the inspection costs. Child minders pay £14 to register with Ofsted and £11 annually thereafter. The registration costs for them are approximately £750, as are the inspection costs. I hope, therefore, that he sees that they are heavily subsidised and that there is no question of the fees covering anything like the costs incurred in ensuring that the functions of registration and regulation are properly carried out so that people are reassured about, among other things, child protection and safeguarding.
The hon. Gentleman will, I am sure, have read the regulatory impact assessment and will know that there is a working assumption that the fee will be £180 for day care providers. However, as there will be a review of fees next year which will inform the drafting of the regulations that will be put before the House, that is not exactly worked out yet. As registration is compulsory for some, there is no question of the fees being allowed to escalate out of all proportion so that we defeat the object of having registration in the first place, which is to ensure that provision is safe and that those who leave their children in that setting can be assured of its safety.
My hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) asked about safeguarding for the over-eights, in relation to whom registration is not compulsory. I think she wants to know what assurance there will be of safety in those settings if registration is not compulsory and people do not register. She will no doubt intervene if I have misinterpreted her point.
Safeguarding is dealt with in many different ways across public services for children. It is not just a matter for those who provide a setting for child care or education; it is a much wider duty across public sector bodies that interact with children. Those who were on the Committee that considered the Children Act 2004 will recall that it extended the obligation to safeguard across a much wider range of public servants.
The requirements for Criminal Records Bureau checks have also been tightened. They are designed to ensure that safeguarding is taken much more seriously and is a greater part of the core business of all those who interact with children. We are preparing a safeguarding vulnerable groups Bill, which will implement the scheme suggested by Sir Michael Bichard, following the Soham murders, for barring and vetting jobs and functions that involve interaction with children.