Parents are being forced to fork out £158-a-week for a nursery place, while only a third of council areas have enough childcare to meet demand, a major survey finds today. Research by the charity Coram reveals that the cost of 25 hours a week for a child under two in
Britain has risen by an inflation-busting 7% since last year. Parents in inner
London paid the most, with a £218 weekly bill, compared to £129 in the East Midlands. It also found that only a third (34%) of English councils said they have enough childcare for parents working full-time, down 14% since 2023. Just over one in three (35%) town halls reported sufficient provision for children under two, a fall of 14% on last year. The survey also revealed only 6% had enough spaces for children with disabilities, compared to 12% from 2023. It comes only two weeks before the start of the first phase of the Government's free childcare expansion, which will give working parents of two-year-olds 15 hours of free childcare from April. Early years providers have been sounding the alarm about the numbers of staff quitting the sector and raising questions about whether it can be delivered. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt agreed to guarantee payments for two years in the Budget earlier this month but questions have been raised about whether it will be a flop. Ellen Broome, managing director of Coram Family and Childcare, said the Government's plans could be a "game changer" for parents who face eye-watering childcare bills or even being locked out of work. But she added: "Unless this policy is properly funded and supported, it could have the opposite effect, with families unable to access or afford the childcare they need and the most disadvantaged children set to miss out." Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said families were "counting the cost" of 14 years of damage done to early years education by the Conservatives. “Vast swathes of
England are already childcare deserts, with families struggling to get the early years’ support they need – the Conservatives’ botched childcare pledge without a plan risks crashing the childcare market just like they crashed the
economy," she said. Neil Leitch, Chief Executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: “With just a fortnight to go until the rollout of the extended entitlement offer, this report raises serious questions about whether the expansion is even close to being workable in practice over the long term. Not only are parents facing surging early years costs, but the availability of places is plummeting at a time when they are needed more than ever. "Despite the government's insistence that the new entitlement offers will be available to all eligible families, it's clear from this report that many councils remain concerned, particularly about future phases of the expansion, with 90% citing staffing challenges as a significant barrier to the rollout." A DfE spokesperson said: “Our largest ever expansion in free childcare is set to save parents using the full 30 hours up to £6,900 per year, tackling the cost pressures parents are currently facing, with the first stage of the rollout beginning in just two weeks. “We are confident in the strength of our childcare market to deliver further expansion, with our funding rates for the new entitlements independently assessed by the IFS as significantly above market rates, guaranteed further rises in funding for the next two years backed by an estimated £500 million, our national recruitment campaign, and £1,000 cash incentive pilot to encourage new staff into the sector. “Even before these interventions, early years places and staff had increased in 2023 compared with five years ago, while the number of children aged 0-5 has dropped year on year between 2018 and 2022.” Join our FREE Mirror politics
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