Italy runs the risk of not achieving all the objectives set with the PNRR for kindergartens and preschools. This is what emerges from a new Focus of the Parliamentary Budget Office, which analyzes the distribution of resources destined for these services and proposes an initial assessment of how likely it is that our country will respect its commitments.
Nurseries, kindergartens and PNRR: 3,7 billion put out for tender
The PNRR plans to invest in everything 4,6 billion euros for nurseries and kindergartens. Of this figure, they have been put out for tender among the local authorities 3,7 billion, to which they added 109 million allocated by the Ministry of Education. At the closing of the tenders, the resources assigned amounted to 3,480 billion. Therefore, 329 million remain to be assigned.
The Regions that have received the most resources
The Mezzogiorno received 52,1 percent of the resources. About half of the funding went to Campania (508,2 million) and in Puglia (357,6). Among the regions of the Centre-North, on the other hand, the greatest funding went to Lombardia (351,4 million), Lazio (214,6) and Veneto (198,2)
Two objectives: building works and new places to create
Two objectives are associated with the investment of the PNRR:
- the award of contracts for construction, redevelopment and safety of nurseries and kindergartens by the second quarter of 2023;
- the creation of 264.480 new places between kindergartens and preschools by the end of 2025.
Not only that: the 2022 maneuver established an "essential level of social performance" (Lepse) according to which each Municipality must guarantee a number of places (including private service) equal to 33 per cent of the population aged between 3 and 36 months.
Possible delays in the renovation of old kindergartens and in the construction of new ones
Based on PBO-IRPET estimates, in order to meet the objective of signing contracts within the established timescales, the publication of tenders/notices for the award of works by the local authorities should take place by the end of 2022. As of today, however , agreements are still being defined between the Ministry of Education and the local authorities for the start of the construction phase of the work and part of the amounts are still to be assigned. “Milestone achievement – writes the PBO – therefore it seems subordinate to an acceleration of the times necessary to conclude the assignment phase. It could be useful to make use of the simplified procedures temporarily introduced for projects falling under the PNRR, the logic of which should be maintained in the future new Procurement Code".
Nurseries and Leps: national shortcomings and a strong North-South divide…
In 2019, the total (public and private) coverage of nursery schools (0-3 years) stood at 26,9 per cent, about six points less than the Leps, but presented strong territorial differences: some regions of the Centre-North and Sardinia reached levels close to or above the 33 per cent objective, while in the South and Islands the values were close to 15 per cent. The situation is different in kindergartens (3-6 years), in which 2020 percent of the reference population was enrolled in 92,2.
The PBO estimates show that with funds from the PNRR all the Central-Northern Regions could fill and, often, overcome the gap between the places currently available and those necessary to achieve the Leps. In the southern regions, on the other hand, the scenario is more heterogeneous: some regions would exceed (Abruzzo, Basilicata, Molise and Sardinia) or would reach (Calabria and Puglia) the Leps; others (Campania and Sicily) would not be able to fill the gap of missing places.
…but 3.400 Municipalities did not participate in the PNRR tenders
According to the Parliamentary Budget Office, the Municipalities have shown less interest in the construction of nursery schools, of which there is a lower supply, and concentrated attention on infant schools, which are already widespread and cover the almost all potential users.
In detail, little more than 3.400 Municipalities with a serious shortage of nursery schools (coverage rate between 0 and 11 per cent) did not participate in the PNRR tenders. In about half of the cases, the choice not to participate could be justified by the fact that the number of children is so small that it does not require the creation of nursery schools (this explanation applies above all to the mountain municipalities and in the inland areas of the large islands). For the other half of the Municipalities that did not participate in the tenders – those with a number of children who would instead require the creation of new nursery schools – the only alternative to complying with the Leps is to activate forms of collaboration with neighboring Municipalities.
Read the full text of the Focus UPB.
