MP demands Government axe funding U-turn to stop nurseries in the South Lakes from going out of business

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has written to the Chancellor and the Education Secretary, urging them to reverse their decision not to give nurseries full access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Early years providers were originally told that they could access both the furlough scheme and their usual government support at the same time.

But in an update last week, just days before the furlough scheme went live, the Government changed its guidance to say nurseries who offer funded places will only be able to furlough a proportion of their staff.

The new rules state that the number of staff that can be furloughed must be equivalent to the amount of non-government funded income the nursery gets.

The National Day Nurseries Association has warned that this decision could be the 'final straw' for many nurseries.

Tim said: "This is an almighty blow to childcare provision here in the South Lakes.

"We already know that the funding for early years comes up woefully short, with several local nurseries being forced to close for good over the past couple of years.

"But for them now, at this time of crisis, to have had the rug pulled out from underneath them with only a few days notice is shocking.

"There's no doubt that this will result in nurseries not being able to survive with staff losing their jobs.

"The Government must reverse this totally unacceptable decision and give our local nurseries full access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme now."