Childcare costs in London are forcing parents to give up work

 
Difficult decision: Kate Goddard with her children Charlotte and Reuben
10 April 2012

The "eye-wateringly high" cost of childcare in the capital is forcing many parents to quit their jobs because they cannot afford nursery places, a report by the London Assembly warns today.

The findings reveal that childcare costs in the capital are up to a third higher than elsewhere in Britain - an average of £119 a week, or £6,000 a year, for 25 hours care for a child under two. In some of the more affluent areas the bill can reach £22,000 a year.

London families do not receive any extra financial help. The result is that parents on low to middle incomes find that working is unaffordable.

The Assembly's health and public services committee said children needed accessible and high quality childcare that meets the needs of families. But the committee found for example that the current system of 15 hours' free childcare was not flexible enough to fit round the working lives of London parents.

Chairwoman Victoria Borwick said: "Many parents simply cannot afford to return to work after having children. We understand that a great deal is happening to make it easier for parents to access and afford childcare.

"However, we think that all levels of government should do more so that London parents can work, study or train, and build a better life for their families."

The committee today called on the Mayor to encourage more employers to promote childcare vouchers and investigate how access to early years education can be improved.

The committee's investigation into the affordability of childcare was based on a national survey by the Daycare Trust.

It found London parents face longer working hours, lengthy commutes and increased distance from family members who could otherwise provide childcare support. These factors all add to childcare bills at a time when other household costs are rising.

The situation is compounded by local authority budget cuts which mean the closure of nurseries at children's centres. The UK average weekly cost of a nursery place for a child under two is £96 compared with the £119 bill in London. For children over two, London is 20 per cent higher at £113 a week. High property and staff costs are the main reasons for London's more expensive care.

'Paying for two would have left me with £50 a month'

Mother-of-two Kate Goddard told how after the birth of first child Reuben in 2008, she kept her job as a researcher for a charity part-time. But when daughter Charlotte was born in 2010, the cost became too great.

"I went back to work three days a week when my first child was born and because I was on a decent salary and had childcare vouchers it was OK," said Mrs Goddard, 31. "But when I had Charlotte I could not afford to go back. The cost of two of them was just too much - it would have meant I was only making £50 a month effectively."

Mrs Goddard, who lives in Kingston with husband Mark, 34, an IT worker, said she would have been paying £100 a day for her children to be looked after: "It is just too expensive. Also I was commuting so with train fares going up ... it was not feasible.

"It was a difficult decision. There is definitely a problem with childcare costs and it is exaggerated in London with everything else so expensive. The Government wants people to go back to work but there needs to be more subsidy to make it more available."

Benedict Moore-Bridger

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in