Breathe a sigh of relief from parents of daycare children and also from the city administration of Würzburg: Finally there is a regulation for daycare fees during the Corona crisis – across Bavaria.
The discussion of whether daycare fees for unused care should be due in corona times had started in Würzburg at the end of last week. The city council had rejected a cross-faction application from Die Linke, FDP and Bürgerforum – related to the city’s kindergartens. The parties had criticized the attitude of the Würzburg city administration and demanded that the day care contributions be repaid proportionately and that the funds for the following month should not be collected.
Now the problem has been resolved for the following weeks, as it were, because there is a Bavaria-wide solution that the city of Würzburg had hoped for: Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) has announced in a government statement that parents in the Free State will be there for the next three Months would not have to pay kindergarten or daycare fees as long as the facilities are closed due to the corona crisis.
Consistency with all daycare providers
He is setting up another rescue pot for Bavaria, which will be filled with a total of 500 million euros. In addition to the daycare fees, the pot is also to be used to finance further support, for example for rehabilitation clinics or artists.
Würzburg’s social officer Hülya Düber praised the “extraordinary performance” of daycare centers and child minders. “Our goal was and is to maintain the childcare offer even after the crisis. To achieve this, the top priority for us over the past few weeks – together with the Bavarian City Council – was a uniform, Bavaria-wide solution for all daycare centers, both in municipal, as well as to obtain free sponsorship, “said Düber, who, as reported in the city council last week, had spoken out against an urban solution.
She is very pleased with the decision of the Bavarian state government to take over the parents’ contributions for the next three months, said Düber. “Today’s decision confirms our strategy of harmonizing with all providers.”
Patrick Friedl: Glad to give in to the Free State
Grünen-MdL and Würzburg City Councilor Patrick Friedl wrote in an open letter that he was pleased to note that the Free State “has now reacted to his and the activities of many others in Bavaria and has now steered the state government”. Friedl is now hoping for a prompt, community-friendly implementation of this announcement. It was not understandable why parents have to pay daycare fees in some municipalities and not in others, said his Green Parliament colleague Kerstin Celina from Kürnach.
If details of the implementation are available from the ministry, the parents would be informed immediately, the social department said.
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