A NURSERY manager is meeting with the minister in charge of new plans to give working York parents 30 hours of free child care a week.

Helen Gration, who runs Montessori nurseries in Strensall and Fulford, has been part of a successful trial period ahead of the Government rolling out the scheme to parents everywhere in September this year.

She has secured a meeting with MP Caroline Dinenage to address the Government’s plans to double the amount of free childcare for working parents of three and four-year-olds.

While Mrs Gration believes in the plans, she is eager to address some issues with them, including the set funding package until 2020 and how providers will deliver quality care on a limited budget.

With the cost of living increasing and business rates rising, she believes the package will leave businesses providing the care with no choice but to hit parents with additional charges.

She said: “I’m going there to represent providers around the country.

“We will hopefully get a chance to discuss what the issues are and what the 30 hour pilot has shown are the pitfalls.”

The Government pledged £13 million to councils in some parts of the country to offer free childcare a year ahead of schedule.

This pilot scheme has already taken place in York and will be rolled out across the country from September.

Mrs Gration said: “My opinion is child care is very expensive in this country and any help we can give is a bonus.

“Where we will come a cropper is the funding rate given to providers is going to be fixed until at least 2020.

“During that time we will see a rise in the minimum living wage which is having a striking impact.”

Mrs Gration, who is married to TV presenter Harry Gration and is mum to twin boys, says she would like the opportunity to pay staff based on their experience or specialist skills and believes nurseries will still have to charge parents for their unique services, like food, because of the Government’s strict funding plan.

She said: “Nurseries cannot sustain an hourly rate with that funding, so they are going to have to introduce charges.

“As a provider we believe the children are coming to us because of something we offer, so are we going to find a way to keep doing that?”

This is not the first time Mrs Gration has lobbied ministers in Westminster.

As The Press reported back in 2015, Mrs Gration went to Westminster to meet the then Minister for Childcare, MP Sam Gyimah, to warn the Government’s free childcare scheme was seriously underfunded.