The Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis revealed that families in affluent areas have more access to funded childcare than those in poorer areas

ONS analysis with Ofsted registered inspects revealed wide variation in the potential level of access to registered childcare places across the country in 2023.

Parents and children who live in lower income areas were generally likely to have less access to funded childcare places than those who in higher income areas.

Access to childcare is calculated as an equivalent number of childcare places per 100 children aged 0 to 7 years, accessible from a neighbourhood.

Affluent areas like St Albans and Cambridge had the highest levels of childcare access. Areas such as Torridge and Walsall had the lowest levels of access which both have just 12 places available out of 100.

Nearly all (9 out of 10) of the local authority areas with the highest number of childcare places relative to children had a higher than average gross disposable household income (GDHI) per head of the population. The only exception was South Ribble.

In contrast, all the areas with the lowest levels of childcare access had a lower than average GDHI per head, with 6 out of 10 falling in the lowest 10% of local authorities.

Areas with higher childcare access were more likely to have women with higher levels of qualification

Of the 10 local authorities with the highest levels of childcare access, nine were also in the highest 10% for the proportion of women in households with dependent young children, who were highly qualified. The 10 local authorities with the lowest levels of childcare access were in the lowest 30% for proportions of women with dependent children, who were highly qualified.

Accessible childcare is particularly important for women who want to increase their working hours or enter the labour market, because they are more likely to take responsibility for unpaid childcare, according to our Time use in the UK release.

Purnima Tanuku OBE, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said: “These statistics paint a troubling picture that echoes the concerns we have been sharing about funded places. They show that those children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who have the most to gain from high quality early education and care, tend to be the least likely to have access to those places.

“Children from poorer backgrounds who don’t receive this support early on will arrive at primary school many months behind their peers and this persists onto secondary school and later life chances.

“In our own research, we have found that nurseries are most likely to close in areas of deprivation. This is because there tends to be a larger proportion of government-funded hours compared to parent-paid hours in childcare settings. Currently 83% of nurseries make a loss on funded places and so a greater reliance on funded places puts them at greater risk.

“One immediate action the next government could take is to bring the early years pupil premium in line with the rates paid at primary school. This has to be done alongside a review of the funding rates across the board for early years.

“Access to high quality early education and care for all is vital to reduce the widening disadvantage gap and give all children the best start in life. Government childcare policy must make sure providers are properly funded to be able to deliver places sustainably to all children.”