A FLAGSHIP government initiative to double the amount of free childcare could cripple nurseries.

Childcare providers in the city told The Argus the public funds being paid will not be enough if the Government scheme to raise the number of free hours from 15 hours to 30 goes ahead next April.

Lynn Hoare, owner of Strawberry Hill Nursery in Brighton, said: “The future is unknown and all of us are worried. £4.40 per hour per child is not enough. With 15 free hours, we can do it by charging more than we normally would for the extra hours to make up the difference. But we cannot do the same with 30 free hours as no one is likely to want more than 30 hours' childcare a week, so we cannot make up shortfall."

Labour councillor Tom Bewick said rates being offered by the “penny pinching and miserly” government are too low.

Under government proposals, the amount of free childcare for nursery age children is set to increase from 15 hours a week to 30 hours from April.

But Cllr Bewick is concerned rates the council will be able pass on to early care providers of £4.14 per hour is considerably below the current average rate of up to £5.15 charged by local firms.

The Labour councillor, who has called on the city’s three MPs to lobby ministers over the issue, claims the city is facing a £520,000 funding black hole for the scheme compared to other councils.

Cllr Bewick’s concerns have also been echoed by the cross-party public accounts committee when it examined the proposals earlier this year.

He said he was concerned that the city was being “punished” for its current take-up of the free entitlement which is among the highest in the country.

He said: “This policy is great in principle to help working parents during these difficult times but unfortunately the Tory government is short changing the city and potentially putting providers to the wall.

“We have been grouped with East Sussex but really we should be treated as a London borough for funding when you compare areas of deprivation and attainment at early years.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said the changes would see Brighton and Hove get a one per cent increase in their funding rate which would put the city "roughly in the middle" of the national distribution.

She said funding rates were informed by the most comprehensive analysis of the childcare market ever conducted.

She added: “Our proposed changes will transform the way we fund early years’ education, creating a fairer system that better provides the affordable, high-quality childcare families deserve, and have received widespread support from the sector.

“The vast majority of providers and councils, including Brighton and Hove and East Sussex, will see increases in their average hourly funding rates.

"We are also guaranteeing that no council will face more than a 10 per cent reduction to this rate and that providers will get at least 95 per cent of the rate we pay local authorities.”