Almost half of England is a “childcare desert” with poor accessibility to childcare according to research from an Australian university.

Victoria University’s study International childcare: Mapping the deserts mapped childcare access across nine countries: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia, France, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands.

The report classified about half of England (45%) as a “childcare desert”, defined as an area of poor childcare accessibility, compared to 10% of Scotland. England ranked eighth in the list while Scotland ranked third, below Norway and Sweden.

Of the nine regions across England, the North West, London and the South East rank best for childcare accessibility, while the West Midlands, Yorkshire and The Humber and the North East have the greatest number of people living in a “childcare desert”. 

Researchers found big differences in childcare accessibility even within local authorities. Cambridge is the local authority with the best accessibility, with more than twice the accessibility of local authorities like Torridge, South Staffordshire and Walsall which have the lowest. Childcare accessibility in the top 10% of advantaged neighbourhoods in England is 16% greater than in the 10% most deprived areas of England.

Sarah Ronan, director of the UK’s Early Education and Childcare Coalition, said: “Childcare deserts in England are predominantly found in areas of disadvantage, yet these are precisely the communities that would benefit from greater access. Yes, opportunity begins in the early years, but without fair access to early education, so does inequality. We need a strategy for addressing this coupled with a willingness by government to invest and reform.”

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said: “The findings from this report are a real concern and demonstrate the amount of work that needs to be done, particularly in England.”

She said NDNA research showed that settings are more likely to close in areas of deprivation. “Nurseries in disadvantaged areas tend to have more government-funded children and fewer parent-paid hours, so there is less chance for these settings to make up the shortfall between the funding rate and the delivery costs,” she said. “This correlates with the report which shows that childcare availability in affluent areas is better. This situation is likely to embed poverty and widen the attainment gap.”