Parents face £1,000 a year in ‘hidden’ childcare costs, figures show
Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to boost childcare funding in the Autumn Statement after new figures revealed parents risk having to pay an extra £1,000 a year in hidden fees.
Some 85 per cent of councils currently have a shortfall between the Government’s funding of the 30 free hours of childcare a week provision and the fees charged by nurseries, analysis of official figures by the Liberal Democrats has shown.
On average, parents of three to four-year-olds, who are entitled to 30 free hours a week, risk paying £19.50 a week to fund the gap, or £1,014 a year.
Some councils are experiencing much bigger shortfalls in funding, including North Somerset, where parents face paying an extra £70.80 a week for every child in nursery, followed by Brent, north London, at £69.90 a week and Richmond-upon-Thames, south-west London, at £63 a week.
Parents in nine local authorities across the country could be forced to find £45 or more per child per week to fund the deficit, according to the analysis of Department for Education figures.
The figures do not reveal whether the costs are passed on to parents or whether the local authorities have to fund the shortfall. But either way, the gap means an extra burden for taxpayers.
Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson urged the Chancellor to take action in his autumn statement on 22 November. She added: “If the Government wants to boost the economy then it must tackle the gaping hole in childcare costs.
“The Autumn Statement next week must address this or else families and ultimately the economy will continue to suffer.
“The UK already has some of the highest childcare costs in the world. Parents up and down the country are struggling to afford their nursery fees, while for others the crippling costs of childcare mean they simply can’t afford to return to work.
“There is a huge crisis looming with both nurseries and local councils warning of a collapse if the Government doesn’t come forward with proper funding.”
Ministers have been repeatedly warned that funding for “free” childcare provision does not meet the cost to nurseries, with some settings forced to close due to the shortfall.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently estimated that “core resources per hour for 3- and 4-year-olds in 2024–25 will be 11 per cent below their level in 2012-13 once providers’ costs are taken into account”.
