Ondon parents face a childcare crisis with rising prices and lack of offers pushing some parents – primarily mothers – out of the workplace, warns a major new report.
The cost of childcare for children under two has increased by 2.5 percent in one year, according to Coram Family and Childcare’s 21st annual childcare survey, the nation’s most comprehensive annual survey of childcare costs.
Prices are highest in London, where parents in inner London now pay an average of £ 183.56 for 25 hours a week childcare for children under two.
This is 50 per cent higher than the £ 122.17 that parents pay in Yorkshire and Humberside.
At the national level, the cost of childcare for children aged three and four has also increased by 3.5 percent in one year, the report states. Only 59 percent of local authorities report having enough child care available for parents working full-time, down from 68 percent last year, limiting many parents’ ability to work, the report said.
The report described the situation as a “childcare crisis” and said: “The costs are too high and there are not enough of them. It is still a deeply deficient patchwork system that makes it difficult for families to get the support they need. , forcing some parents – especially mothers – completely out of the workforce. “
Coram Family and Childcare urged Chancellor Rishi Sunak to use tomorrow’s spring statement to help parents affected by rising childcare costs. Ellen Broomé, CEO of Coram Family and Childcare, said: “We are disappointed that in the midst of an ongoing cost-of-living crisis and in the wake of a pandemic that has severely affected children’s livelihoods, the government has again refused to revise childcare funding. “and accessibility. Many parents, up and down the country, will be locked out of work or struggling to make ends meet as childcare rates continue to rise and the availability of places falls.”
The charity urges that the maximum amount of childcare costs paid under Universal Credit be increased, that more people be eligible for the 30 free childcare hours, and that the early years premium be paid to childcare providers who care for disadvantaged children. , doubles. .
According to the report, inner London is the most expensive place in the country for all forms of childcare except after schools.
For full-time daycare, inner-Londoners pay £ 368.73 a week – 36 per cent more than the UK average of £ 269.86.