12th February 2010
Nursery fees shot up by an inflation-busting 5.1% last year, as
yearly parent expenditure in England topped £4,576.
Figures revealed by national childcare charity Daycare Trust in
their annual survey show that childcare for a toddler now swallows
half the gross earnings of an average parent in England working
part-time.
London nurseries are the most costly for parents, where fees can
hit up to £11,050. That equates to £212.50 a week for 25 hours of
childcare.
Other regions are catching up fast with the capital. East
Midlands and Yorkshire recorded a 23.5% jump in nursery costs for
children aged two and over, while the price of childcare went up
almost 13% in the Humber area.
The charity said its survey highlighted how parents are "facing
the strain of losing jobs or having hours cut back or facing pay
cuts - all of which is compounded by childcare costs shooting
up".
The chief executive of Daycare Trust, Alison Garnham, labelled
the figures "shocking" and called on the government to take action
and extend the entitle of free nursery care to all children over
two.
London nurseries are the most costly for
parents, where fees can hit up to £11,050. That equates to £212.50
a week for 25 hours of childcare.
She said: "The only way to bring down childcare [costs] is more
public subsidy. In Europe it is either universal provision or
means-testing, but basically the state pays for nurseries. Here we
are trying to improve quality by charging fees. Parents cannot
afford to pay. At the moment the maximum subsidy is 80% of the
total costs through the tax credit system. This needs to rise to
100%."
Under the current system, children over the age of three qualify
for 12.5 hours of government-funded childcare - although this is
due to rise to 15 hours. Garnham said that this should extend to 20
hours by 2010.
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