Cost of child care up by a third in five years

The average cost of childcare for the under twos has risen by a third in the past five years, a new report reveals.

The most recent annual survey by the Family and Childcare Trust, shows that the cost of a part-time place at a nursery for babies and toddlers has increased by 33 per cent since 2010. Part-time places now cost over £6,000 per year and have gone up by 5 per cent in the last twelve months.

The charitable trust has urged all political parties to join together to review childcare provision in the UK, particularly for the under twos. The coalition government says that it has increased free childcare places for pre-school children of three and four years old.

The fourteenth survey by the Family and Childcare Trust was based on responses by 196 UK local authorities regarding the cost of twenty five hours of childcare and fifty hours in nurseries or with childminders. The report said that nursery costs have risen by 32.8 per cent for the under twos during a period when wages, in real terms, have stayed the same.

The trust revealed last year that for many parents, the cost of childcare was higher than their mortgages.

Although the government introduced increased aid for parents with the cost of childcare through a new tax free childcare scheme and universal credit in 2013, prices have risen at a rate above inflation and wages have remained static. Consequently, the report indicates, the help from these initiatives has been virtually wiped out, particularly in the south east of England and in London, where one part-time nursery place costs £7,907.

Stephen Dunmore, chief executive of the Family and Childcare Trust, said that all political parties should agree to a full review of childcare provision in the UK, where a new, simpler system is required.