Childcare costs increasing above inflation

New research by charity the Daycare Trust says that childcare costs are continuing to rise above inflation and wages.

The cost of childcare has risen to up to £15,000 a year for some families as Government support is cut back.

Research by childcare charity the Daycare Trust has found that the cost of nursery care has risen by nearly 6% in the past year, significantly above inflation. The cost of a childminder has increased by an average of 3.6%.

Meanwhile, 44,000 families have had seen their Government support cut while wages have only increased by an average of 0.3%.

The research says that low-income families are now worse off to the tune of £500 a year due to the cut in the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit.

Recent research says the cost of childcare has deterred many mothers from returning to work after having children.

Here’s how the average cost of childcare compares across Great Britain for a 25-hour week:

Region	Cost of nursery for a child under two	Cost of nursery for child of two and over	Cost of childminder for child under two	Cost of childminder for child of two and over	Cost of out of school club
London	£126.80	£112.24	£129.59	£129.02	£47.48
South East	£119.21	£110.88	£103.10	£101.76	£47.89
South West	£106.95	£105.78	£93.26	£93.26	£46.02
East of England	£103.73	£97.77	£90.69	£87.63	£43.96
Scotland	£101.49	£94.52	£93.10	£92.04	£48.55
East Midlands	£97.59	£96.24	£79.61	£79.73	£36.71
North East	£95.96	£94.61	£88.93	£87.72	£55.50
Yorkshire & Humber	£95.54	£94.38	£83.35	£83.35	£44.61
Wales	£92.35	£89.33	£92.96	£92.06	£40.05
North West	£91.85	£90.58	£80.81	£80.33	£47.06
West Midlands	£91.04	£86.32	£84.12	£83.67	£42.99

The Daycare Trust is asking the Government to consider a range of proposals to help with childcare costs, including extending the free early education entitlement to all two-, three- and four-year-olds and extending the number of hours from 15 to 20 a week.

It also wants childcare vouchers to be made available to self-employed people.

More: Five ways to cut the cost of childcare | Your child could earn 6% from an ISA