Dear Service Provider,
Please find the below notification from the National Fee Review Team regarding Core Funding Partner Service fee tables and parent statements for the upcoming Programme Year. Where a Service Provider has signed a Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement for the 2024/2025 Programme Year, they have agreed to uphold certain contractual obligations regarding the fees charged to parents. One of these obligations is that they would not increase their fees beyond what they were on 30 September 2021. For New Partner Services that were not in existence on 30 September 2021, and which subsequently joined Core Funding, they must adhere to their Fees Charged by them for the same service as set on the date that they signed the first Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.
Action for 2024/25 Programme Year
In instances where a Partner Service has made changes to their fee table and parent statement for the upcoming Programme Year, it is strongly recommended that they ensure these changes are compliant with the terms of the Core Funding Partner Service Agreement. If a Partner Service identifies a potential issue with their fee table and parent statement for the 2024/25 Programme Year, they should reach out to their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) at the earliest opportunity possible to get this rectified. Please be aware that at the Commencement of the Core Funding Partner Service Agreement on 1 September 2024, Partner Services which are suspected of being breach of the Core Funding Partner Service Agreement for 2024/25, may become subject of the Fee Review Process. This process will be utilised to determine whether a breach of the Agreement has occurred. If at the conclusion of this process a determination is made that a breach of the Core Funding Partner Service Agreement or it associated Rules has occurred, a Partner Service may be asked to provide evidence of remediation of the breach. Evidence of remediation may include the provision of evidence that demonstrates that a Partner Service has restored fees to the correct level or informed and refunded all parents who have been overcharged the full amount that they have overpaid or agreed a repayment plan with them. Many Thanks,The National Fee Review Team
