Berlin, 19 March 2021. In two rulings handed down today, Berlin‑Brandenburg Superior Administrative Court confirmed that the cap on additional payments by parents for special daycare services, which has been in effect since September 2018, is constitutional.
The arrangements being challenged entered into force on 1 September 2018 and were based on a framework agreement between the Land of Berlin and umbrella organisations of independent childcare providers. According to this agreement, additional payments for special day care services that go above and beyond standard services may not exceed EUR 90 per month and child. The plaintiffs, two publicly funded providers of several daycare centres in Berlin, considered this to be an unconstitutional encroachment on their professional freedom. Because they continued to charge significantly excessive additional payments for special childcare services of between EUR 220 and 780 per month, the Land has cut its monthly cost subsidies to these providers since June 2019.
In today's rulings, Berlin‑Brandenburg Superior Administrative Court has upheld the opinion already expressed in the first instance by Berlin Administrative Court to the effect that the capping of additional payments does not give rise to any constitutional misgivings. Moreover, the High Court also considered the funding cuts imposed in the specific case due to the violation of these requirements to be appropriate.
Acting as counsel for the defendant, the Land of Berlin, in the proceedings were the attorneys Kathrin Dingemann and Dr Bettina Gausing, LL.M. from the Redeker Sellner Dahs law firm.
