Holiday care costs highest for ten years

SCOTTISH parents pay an average of £124 for every week of holiday childcare – £48.08 more than a decade ago, say researchers.

And while costs for the sixweek summer break are on a par with the UK average, families north of the Border may also find it harder to find care.

Councils are not required to monitor availability of childcare in their areas, which means seven in ten local authorities do not know if enough childcare is available this summer.

Fewer than one in ten councils said there was enough childcare in their area, according to the Family and Childcare Trust’s holiday childcare survey.

It found Scots parents will pay on average £744 for six weeks of childcare per child this summer, a one per cent drop compared to last year.

The average price of one week of full time holiday childcare is now £124.43 – 20p more than the UK average.

Families in England pay the most at £124.62, while the cheapest care is in Wales, where parents pay £117.62 on average.

Scottish Labour education spokesman Daniel Johnson voiced concern at the rise in childcare costs. A six-week break is £288.48 more expensive than in 2007 – or £48.08 a week.

Mr Johnson said: ‘Families face enough difficulties with the cost of living, without having to pay over the odds for childcare as well.’