Childcare ‘ near mortgage cost’
● Parents in Edinburgh fork out 43 per cent of take- home salary for nurseries
The cost of childcare f or Edin - burgh parents is almost as much as their monthly mortgage parents, according to a report.
Admiral Loans said the price of month’s nursery care in the city is £ 950, which is 43 per cent of the average Edinburgh t ake - home salary of £ 2,208.
Campaigners say high childcare costs make it almost impossible for lone parents to work.
Parents in Edinburgh are forking out almost as much for childcare as they are on their monthly mortgage payment, a report has revealed.
The price of a month’s nursery care in Scotland’s capital is £ 950, 43 per cent of the average Edinburgh take- home salary of £ 2,208, according to the study from Admiral Loans.
In Glasgow, the picture is only marginally better, despite having the lowest childcare fees of all of the 13 cities surveyed at £ 799. Childcare in the city would still take up 40 per cent of a typical salary in the city – with the cost being above a typical monthly mortgage payment of £ 785.
UK-wide, parents inBr isto land London paid the biggest amount of their salary on childcare, with the cost of nursery taking up 55 per cent of their pay.
Londoners also face the highest childcare costs of the country, at £ 1,383 a month.
Campaigners have said that the high cost of childcare made it almost impossible for lone parents to work, and warned that some may turn towards high-interest loans to plug the gap.
SatwatR eh man, director at One Parent Families Scotland :“It’s particularly difficult if you are only able to have one income and have to manage the whole day–mornings, afternoons and evenings.
“The lack of cost-effective childcare is a major contrib - utoryf actor towards single parents not being able to work their way out of poverty.”
Stuart Car michael of the Debt Support Trust, said: “Many families face a finan - cial dilemma after a child is born and it’s a problem which needs to be addressed.
“While efforts have been made to make it more affordable for parents to return to work after the birth of a child, for low- income families, the financial benefit can be very limited.”
Scott Cargill, UK chief executive of Admiral Loans, said: “Our research shows the cost of childcare can be a huge burden on new families.
“Parents who have taken maternity or paternity leave may already be under financial pressure after being on a lower income during their timeout of the workplace, and maybe squeezed even more when the cost of childcare kicks in.
“New parents have a lot of additional costs to consider. For families already on a tight budget, anything that pushes their spending further, such as holidays, Christmas or birthdays, can tempt people into looking for ways to ease the strain. We are concerned that more people could be turning to high interest, shortterm loans to bridge financial gaps, which area temporary solution at best and could lead to additional stress and worry further down the line.”
In five of the 13 cities studied – Glasgow, Birmingham, Plymouth, Liverpool and Nottingham – monthly childcare bills were found to be higher than average mortgage payments.
The price of an average house in each city was used to calculate monthly payments, based on a 25- year term, with 95 per cent loan- to- value.
Last week, the Scottish Government launched a campaign with the aim of recruiting 11,000 people into childcare jobs in Scotland.
Ministers plan to expand funded childcare in Scotland to 30 hours per week by 2020.
“The lack of costeffective childcare is a major contributory factor towards single parents not being able to work their way out of poverty” SATWAT REHMAN One Parent Families Scotland