Family and Childcare Trust warns that the rising costs of childcare makes working financially pointless for many families
Rising childcare costs means for many families it “simply does not pay to work” a major new report has revealed.
The research by the Family and Childcare Trust (FACT) found the average cost for part-time nursery place in Scotland for under two's rose to just over £5,720 in 2015.
Last year the cost was £5,514 meaning costs have increased by over 3.7%.
The trust asked local authorities across the UK to provide the cost of 25 hours of nursery care and childminders as well as 15 hours' childcare in an after-school club, or for a childminder picking children up from school.
The average cost for 25 hours nursery care per week in Scotland was £110 for under twos and £99.93 for over twos.
We believe that the forthcoming report from the Commission for Childcare Reform will provide a better understanding of the Scottish context
The UK average was £115 and £109 respectively.
The trust says that over the course of the current UK parliament childcare costs have increased by 33%.
"Over the last five years, while there have been deep cuts to other public services, the coalition government has increased spending on childcare," the report said.
"But despite this welcome investment, this year's survey finds childcare prices have continued to increase and the gaps in provision remain unfilled.
"The reality is that for too many families it simply does not pay to work."
Publishing the report, FACT chief executive Stephen Dunmore called for a “radical reform” of the childcare system in Britain.
However, Children in Scotland, while acknowledging the report and its statistics on increased costs, said an upcoming report by the Childcare Alliance’s Commission for Childcare Reform, which is established last year, would be more relevant to Scotland.
The commission is currently investigating ways of organising, delivering and paying for high-quality affordable childcare, which enables families to work or study and which helps tackle inequalities. It will produce an interim report next month and a full report with recommendations this summer.
Deputy chief executive Jacqueline Lamb said: “We welcome the UK perspective provided by today’s FACT report, and endorse the central finding that families want and need more affordable high-quality provision for their children.
“However, we believe that the forthcoming report from the Commission for Childcare Reform, which we expect will recognise today’s call for radical reform, will provide a better understanding of the Scottish context.
“We expect the Commission’s report to offer practical proposals for change which will transform the affordability, flexibility and accessibility parents in Scotland require in a fair, sustainable and progressive way.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The cost of childcare can be a real challenge for families. That's why we have committed £329m to expand free early learning and childcare for three and four-year-olds by almost half to 600 hours.
"We have also targeted the most vulnerable and hard-pressed families of two-year-olds and given them access to free nursery places for the first time.
"We will move forward with even more ambitious plans for the future to increase funded hours from 16 to 30 hours a week - the same as amount of time as children spend in primary school - by the end of the next parliament."
