Parents ‘locked’ out of work by childcare costs

NURSERY fees for part-time places in Wales now top £6,000 a year, pricing some parents out of returning to work.

The average price for a part-time nursery place for a child under two is now £116 a week in Wales, the Family and Childcare Trust’s 17th annual Childcare Survey shows.

Yet this is only the average price. One mother says she would have to pay £2,500 a month for full-time childcare for her two under-threes in Cardiff.

And even if parents can afford childcare, it is not always available.

The survey also revealed significant childcare shortages in Wales. Only half of the 22 local authority areas have enough childcare for working parents and not a single one reported there being enough childcare places for parents working outside typical office hours.

While most parents are entitled to some government support to help with childcare costs, and some working parents will be spending less on childcare this year following the introduction of tax-free childcare, the “confusing hotchpotch” of different ways parents can get support means that many are at risk of missing out on help they need, the trust warned.

In Wales under-twos are entitled to 12.5 free hours a week for 39 weeks a year, as are two and three year olds living in Flying Start areas – geographic areas which are more deprived.

Three and four year olds are entitled to 10 hours a week in term time. Three year olds living in Flying Start areas are entitled to the same level of support as twoyear-olds and some local authorities in Wales are piloting a 30-hour extended entitlement.

Ellen Broomé, chief executive at the Family and Childcare Trust, said the Welsh Government has taken action to find out where childcare gaps are but there were still problems.

“Too many parents remain locked out of work by high childcare costs and low availability. We are calling on the UK Government to streamline the current hotchpotch of childcare schemes into a simple and responsive childcare system that makes sure every parent is better off working and makes sure childcare quality is high enough to boost children’s outcomes in life.

“The Welsh Government has taken important steps to better understand their local childcare needs and are now better placed to fill the gaps.”

Alongside calls for childcare reform, the Childcare Survey 2018 suggests a range of short term actions to support parents to work. These include increasing the maximum amount of childcare costs that are supported by universal credit.

Responding to the report one mother said she had to give up hopes of returning to work because childcare for her two under-threes in Cardiff would cost more than she could afford even in her former job paying £40,000 a year in finance sales.

Debbie Rees now runs her own renewable products business, Tabitha Eve Co, from home.

She starts work after daughters Darcie, three, and Tabitha, one, go to sleep, selling products including food packaging made from beeswax, washable make-up pads and wipes made from bamboo.

The 31-year-old said she felt cheated out of the career she had forged.

“I would like to have gone back to work. There is a lot of pressure to go back to work and the government claims it is putting things in place but the hours of free childcare don’t work for the working day. The economy is set up for families having two incomes. Free childcare in schools is great if you’re not working but doesn’t help people who work and need childcare.

“For me to have two under-threes in full-time child care would cost £2,500 a month.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We are rolling out our highly-ambitious free childcare offer, which is specifically designed to help parents of three and four year olds to remain in or return to work.

“Our investment in Flying Start, which benefited 37,600 children in 2016-17, includes up to 12.5hrs of free childcare for eligible two to three year olds and is supporting some of the most deprived communities across Wales. Along with tax-free childcare, this represents a significant level of support for working parents with the costs of childcare.

“We are working with the sector and local authorities to increase capacity, with investment in new and existing childcare provision.

“Our Childcare, Play and Early Years Workforce Plan sets out our vision to increase the skills and numbers within the workforce.”