Nurseries in Scotland are hit by soaring business rates

Nursery owners say they had no warning of the increases, which took effect immediately in April at the start of the financial year, and which are calculated by looking at the rental value of business premises at a particular date. Revaluations take place every five years.

In England, increases or decreases in business rates are eased in over five years, as part of a statutory transitional relief system. In Scotland there is no transitional period.

Lynne Robertson of Step by Step nurseries, who owns two settings, said, 'We had no notice of this increase at all. Last year the rateable value of my Livingston setting was £15,600. This year it is £35,000. The rateable value of my East Calder setting has increased from £6,800 to £8,400.'

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said, 'Some nurseries in Scotland have been informed that their rates are rising by thousands of pounds, some equating to 300 per cent rises. Business rates are already a large expense, and nurseries simply cannot sustain these sort of increases, especially in the current economic climate. The issue is compounded by the lack of a transitional period for the increases, with nurseries having to find the money this financial year.'

A Scottish government spokesperson said, 'Almost 60 per cent of ratepayers in Scotland are better or no worse off as a result of revaluation. In England the transitional relief scheme has reduced the average saving to only £770 - almost half the £1,300 saving in Scotland.'

CASE STUDY

Sharon Fairly, owner of Little Flyers Nurseries

'The monthly payments for my Edinburgh setting, which has 21 places, have increased from £111 to £280. The payments for my West Lothian setting, which has 90 places, have increased from £334 to £969. I don't understand how the Scottish government thinks that we can sustain these kinds of increases. Apparently these revaluations take place every five years, but I have been in business for 11 years and I have never seen this happen before. I have appealed the increases. However, I had a meeting with the assessors department, who told me that they have been inundated with appeals and it could take up to a year for the outcome to be known. I am not going to increase fees at the moment but I will have to review the situation in six months.We are constantly hearing about the importance of affordable childcare, but the government is making life so difficult for private nurseries. Where does all this money go?'