Bridgend Council’s Cabinet is set to approve a new agreement with Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board to deliver the Flying Start programme (pdf).
Flying Start provides childcare, alongside additional health & parenting support, to parents living in deprived areas. Areas qualify for Flying Start based on (amongst other things) the number of people receiving income-based benefits (such as universal credit) and where their local communities rank in the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD).
Flying Start is funded by a Welsh Government grant, with just over £6.6 million to be spent in Bridgend during 2025-26.
Perhaps surprisingly, Bridgend Council doesn’t have a formal agreement in place to deliver Flying Start. Such an agreement is now urgently needed to ensure the best use of, and value for, public money, and also to enable BCBC to monitor the performance of Flying Start and its impact more closely.
In a separate report (pdf), BCBC is also preparing a new contract for Flying Start childcare providers.
The childcare element of Flying Start is provided by a mix of 30 charity and private organisations, but no formal contracts are in place with BCBC. This means providers can change fees or even pull out with little to no notice.
The proposed contract framework will fix fees at £18.50 per child per two-and-a-half-hour session.
The price, which officers say would mean an increase in what most providers currently receive, is based on what other local authorities offer and takes into account inflation, minimum wage and changes to national insurance by the UK Government.
