The Petition of staff and parents of Nippers Nursery, Saxon House, Leicester,
Declares that on 30 November Nippers Nursery will be closed by HMRC and that the reason given is that there is a declining number of children attending; further that the Petitioners believe that this is simply not true and that Nippers Nursery is a valuable, viable and well-loved local nursery used by staff of HMRC and local parents alike.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges Her Majesty’s Treasury to reverse the decision to close Nippers Nursery.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Jonathan Ashworth, Official Report, 20 November 2012; Vol. 553, c. 552.]
[P001134]
Observations from the Secretary of State for the Treasury:
On 30 November, this nursery, run by private sector provider Bright Horizons, closed. The nursery operated from HMRC’s premises in Saxon House Leicester. HMRC decided not to renew the contract for this (and seven other nurseries) in March 2012 and informed Bright Horizons of this in May 2012.
As part of the decision, HMRC considered the usage of the Nippers nursery, which at the time was only 61% (around 30% of those parents worked for HMRC). Of course the numbers may have changed slightly from month to month but it is clear that even when the accommodation and utilities were provided free by HMRC and a subsidy offered to HMRC parents, the nursery was not full. In addition, HMRC was providing subsidised accommodation within its offices for a nursery that was used primarily by people who did not work there. That was not sustainable so the decision was taken to end the contract.
There has been a lot of speculation about whether HMRC will use the space that was occupied by the nursery. HMRC recently closed its office at Attenborough House and moved the staff to Saxon House. Next year, HMRC will close its other office in Leicester (Citygate House) and again staff will move into Saxon House.
As a result, HMRC has greater need for the space within Saxon House. Therefore, it could not continue to provide space to an external service provider when it needs it to better enable its core purpose and, at the same time, meet Government targets to reduce the estates footprint and costs associated.
The Government will not be overturning HMRC’s decision.