Soaring nursery fees outstrip wages

WORKING parents with children under five have seen nursery fees increase three times faster than their wages over the past decade, according to a study.

An analysis by the Trades Union Congress showed that childcare costs have risen by 52 per cent since 2008 for families with a full-time and a part-time working parent.

Over the same period their wages have gone up by 17 per cent. The situation is worse for lone parents, with childcare costs for a single mother or father working full-time increasing seven times faster than earnings.

Average nursery fees in England are now £236 a week for a child under two, compared with £159 in 2008, the TUC said. For a child over two, fees are £232 a week, compared with £149 ten years ago.

Growth in nursery fees for families with a full-time and a part-time working parent has outstripped wages the most in the West Midlands over the past decade, the study found.

The South East and the North East also saw sharp rises in nursery fees relative to wages. Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said: ‘Working parents have seen childcare fees rocket as their wages have stagnated.

‘Despite Government support families still face eyewatering nursery bills.

‘Britain’s cost of living crisis is having a huge impact on working mums and dads.’