From railways to nurseries and children’s homes, investors are taking advantage of chances to siphon taxpayer funds offshore

Sector by sector, private equity is making deep inroads into UK public services. More than a decade ago, the collapse of Southern Cross, the private-equity-owned care home operator, revealed the havoc that can be wreaked when essential public services are run by heavily indebted businesses with complex financial structures. Typically, such owners maximise profits by using low-tax jurisdictions, loans, and sale-and-leaseback arrangements that split holding companies from property assets.

Present trends show that this cautionary tale is being ignored. A forthcoming report from the Common Wealth thinktank uses the example of the companies that lease trains to railway operators, to demonstrate that private equity companies are pressing their advantage from financial engineering. Britain’s transport network has joined health and social care, children’s homes and some areas of education in offering rich pickings to private-equity investors.

Experts say government’s relaxation of rules on staff ratios for two-year-olds is putting children at undue risk

Toddlers have been “sold out” to balance the books of the government’s childcare bill, according to nursery providers, who say young children have been put at risk by changes in supervision rules.

The deaths of two babies in nurseries made headlines last week but frontline workers say they are also concerned for the safety of older toddlers after the government relaxed rules on staff ratios.

I didn’t reduce my monthly payments and my employer switched to permanent home working

During the pandemic I did not reduce my monthly payments for childcare vouchers. As a result I have nearly £2,800 in my tax-free childcare account. I now work remotely and don’t need them but have been told I can’t get a refund.

I was paying the maximum £243 a month via salary sacrifice into my KiddiVouchers account. This worked until Covid hit but my employer has switched to permanent home working so I no longer need wraparound childcare.

I explained my change in circumstances to [the scheme provider] and requested they refund my employer so it could be repaid (after tax and national insurance) to me. My employer is happy to do this.

However, KiddiVouchers has refused because it “does not meet the exceptional or unforeseen threshold for a refund”. I can’t believe that the pandemic is not considered “exceptional or unforeseen”.

While deputy manager of Tiny Toes in Stockport found guilty of manslaughter, case suggests it may be about more than just one bad apple

• Woman found guilty of killing girl at Stockport nursery

Baby Genevieve Meehan, known to her family as Gigi, was her usual happy self when she arrived at Tiny Toes nursery on an overcast Monday morning in May 2022.

The nine-month-old girl with the striking emerald eyes had just taken her first steps and was uttering her first words. She had spent the weekend at home with her parents, enjoying cuddles and playing with her favourite toy tambourine.