PARENTS have accused the council of "privatising" an Edinburgh nursery after it hiked fees to bring it in line with the private sector.
They fear they will be forced to take their children out of Cowgate Under 5's Centre as many can't afford the 15 per cent rise in fees.
The city council says the centre is unlike any other local authority nursery in the city as it provides care be
tween 7am and 6pm.
It claims that it is therefore more akin to private nurseries, which is why the fees have been brought in line with the private sector.
But parents of children at the Cowgate centre argue the council-subsidised facility should not be compared to private nurseries.
The hike, which came into effect on Friday, sees an increase in fees from £664.35 to £764 per month for under twos, £659.20 to £758 for children aged between two and three and £662.30 to £761 for children aged three to five.
Parents of children aged between three and five get an "educational discount" equivalent to 12.5 hours of nursery time per week so do not have to pay the full amount.
Beth Cross, chairwoman of the Cowgate Under 5s Centre's parent council, says families will struggle to meet the extra costs – around £1200 per year per child – and has accused the council of trying to privatise the centre.
A single parent of a three-year-old, she has written to council officials questioning their reasoning for the "dramatic increase in fees" and says a number of parents are worried about it.
She said: "Parents who have two children there in particular will be really, really pushed.
"Parents are now faced with having to disrupt their child's nursery provision in order to find more affordable care.
"I know of one family for which this has already proven to be the case. I think we were informed too late. They made this decision back in February but didn't tell us until a point where we had no choice.
"To me it seems like privatising a local council service.
"I don't think we are doing the private nursery sector out of business, but why should that be the first concern?"
The Cowgate centre received the best ever inspection report for a nursery in Scotland in March this year. The faultless report from the HM Inspectorate of Education and the Care Commission saw the centre receive 11 "excellents" – where a lot of nurseries struggle to achieve one – with inspectors taking the unusual step of not recommending any changes or improvements be carried out.
Labour councillor Elizabeth Maginnis was contacted by parents and has written to officials to find out why the fees are being increased so dramatically.
She said: "Labour's big idea is to try to provide affordable care for families.
The idea that this local authority is putting up fees to be the same as the private sector is outrageous."
A council spokeswoman said: "Cowgate Under 5's Centre is a subsidised service and this increase in the fees will bring it into line with similar facilities in the private sector."
The full article contains 531 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
