The TUC said that the cost of full-time childcare for parents with children under two has increased by nearly £3000 a year in England, since 2013.

This is an increase from £11,285 in 2013 for a family with a child under 2 to £14,226 in 2021 – an increase of 26 percent. 

The cost of living crisis is making access to childcare more difficult for the average family across the UK.

TUC worked alongside Coram Family and Childcare Trust, and their analysis showed:

• On average, monthly childcare fees are now over £1000, in 2013 this was the case in only three English regions
• If childcare costs continue to rise at the same rate as they have done for the last five years, by 2026 nursery bills will have risen to £2,000 a month in London and reached the same level in the East of England by 2027
• Estimated 1.7 million women are prevented from taking on more hours of paid work due to childcare issues

The TUC recommends:

• Every family has access to affordable, flexible, high-quality childcare; no one should be worse off because they work and need to use childcare
• A well paid, well organised work force with good terms and conditions, rooted in respect and value for the profession
• A well-funded, sustainable sector with the interests of children at its heart and a diversity of provision that delivers for parents, children, workers. 

Jonathan Broadbery, NDNA’s director of policy and communications, said: “With rocketing household costs, parents will be very worried about the cost of childcare, especially for those with children under two.

“Like so many challenges in the early years sector, it comes down to a lack of government support. Compared to other OECD countries, the UK has one of the lowest per-child spend on early education and childcare. For birth to two-year-olds it is half of that for Germany and a quarter of what is spent in France.

“We have to value our children’s first five years. High quality early education and care cannot be done on the cheap but it should be affordable and accessible for all children because it gives them the best possible start in life. Low levels of government investment mean that providers go out of business while parents end up paying much larger sums for their childcare.

“Nurseries and other childcare providers have to be sustainable otherwise there won’t be sufficient places for all those who need it. This is especially the case in areas of deprivation where children most benefit from early education.”