Carmarthenshire’s Executive Board is to lobby the Welsh Government for more funding to carry out statutory duties placed on the county council to assess and secure sufficient child care provision.
During its meeting at Llanelli Town Hall today (Monday, December 1), the board agreed with concerns raised by members of the Education and Children Scrutiny Committee, that the level of funding provided by Welsh Government was inadequate.
Members agreed to write to the Minister to outline their concerns about the resources needed to deliver the duty, especially given the level of budgetary savings the council needs to make in the next three years.
Leader Cllr Kevin Madge said: “It’s obvious that services are going to suffer. I think we should support the scrutiny committee and write to the Welsh Government with our views.”
Under legislation, the local authority has a duty to be aware of the demand for, and any gaps in, provision of childcare in the county.
Where gaps are identified, the council should provide opportunities for people to provide registered child care.
The Executive Board agreed with the Scrutiny Committee’s frustrations at the ‘high expectations’ of Welsh Government policies, which were backed with insufficient resources.
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