Day care costs at council-run children's centres in Hillingdon will increase by nearly 17 per cent if the local authority's budget proposals are approved next month.

Hillingdon Council's draft budget had originally included an increase of almost 59 per cent, but the authority has now corrected the error on its website.

However, the smaller increase will still mean parents having to pay £47.80 a day per child, rather than £41, as has been the cost since 2003.

For a child being sent to a council-run day care centre every weekday, this will equate to an annual cost of £12,428, up from £10,660.

The fees apply to Nestles Avenue Children's Centre, in Nestles Avenue, Hayes, South Ruislip Early Years Centre, in Queens Walk, South Ruislip, and Uxbridge Early Years Centre, in Park Road, Uxbridge.

One mother, who wished to remain unnamed, said: “It's a huge, huge impact on parents that pay to send their children to those nurseries.

“It was such a shock and that's such a big increase when you've got children. It just seems extremely unfair for them to put that pressure on the parents, who, some of them, will have to move their children.”

Councillor David Simmonds, deputy leader of Hillingdon Council and cabinet member for education and children's services

Councillor David Simmonds, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for education and children's services, blamed the proposed increase on a decision by the Hillingdon Schools Forum, which decides how money is split between the borough's schools, to pull financial support for the three centres.

Councillor Simmonds said: “As a consequence of this decision, the council included in its budget papers proposals to increase fees so that users of the centres pay the actual cost of the service received, making allowance for the retention of some subsidy for families in particular need, as is the main purpose of the centres.

“Throughout this period negotiations with the centres and Schools Forum about costs have been continuing and they will do so at the very least until the council's budget consultation concludes and the council sets its budget on February 26, when a final decision will be taken.”

He added: “Even if we did end up with an increase at this level the centres would still be very favourably priced by comparison with other providers, but we remain in negotiation with Schools Forum over their decision.”

Councillor Simmonds said all affected parents had been made aware of the changes, but added there remained 'plenty of time for a change of heart on the part of [the] Schools Forum, as well as the opportunity to look at centre costs.'

The Schools Forum comprises around 20 representatives from various educational organisations in the borough. Its job is to decide how money from central government's Dedicated Schools Grant is spent.

The forum's chair, Robert Lobatto, who is also headteacher at Barnhill Community High, in Yeading Lane, Hayes, said some money was being withdrawn because it had not been used for its original intended purpose: to subsidise fees for children with specific care plans.

He said the money – some 'hundreds of thousands of pounds' – had been allocated for this purpose for at least 15 years, but had more recently been wrongly used to subsidise all day care fees.

He said it was his understanding that those parents whose children have specific care plans would continue to receive the same fee subsidies, while others would not, meaning the total subsidy funding for the three centres would drop 'significantly'.

Mr Lobatto said: "[S]ome years ago, an amount of funding was allocated to three early years centres – South Ruislip, Uxbridge and Nestles. This was to provide places for preschool age children who had care plans which necessitated them being provided with emergency day care. The idea was to prevent these children being taken into long term care.

“Unfortunately, the funds allocated were never properly monitored and no information was provided about their use.

“Over a period of time, the three centres 'assimilated' the funding into their annual budgets, and used it to subsidise their day care rates for all children (£2 per hour), regardless of their needs.

“[The] Schools Forum is responsible for overseeing how this money is spent, and has been attempting to get to the bottom of this issue for several years. We were finally able to clarify the situation late last year.

“The matter has been discussed with Hillingdon officers, and members, who support the decision to re-allocate the funding to the use for which it was originally intended.

“Schools Forum members do appreciate that this will impact on parents who currently access this provision, and have asked the LA [local authority] officers to work with the early years centres to manage the issue.”

The council's cabinet approved the budget proposals in December. They are now being examined by a Policy Overview Committee and have been made subject to a public consultation, which ends today (Friday, January 30).

The draft budget will go before full council on February 26. If approved, these measures will become effective from September 1.