![]() After looking around, I settled on Abacus in Hebburn. "When he was eight months old, my mum had to have an operation so I took the difficult decision to put Ryan in a private nursery. I'd have liked to have a bit longer off but I needed the money and I was happy to leave Ryan with my mum Julie. She has a three-year-old son Ryan and works full-time in advertising. "The Chancellor likes to boast about his childcare tax credit - but it is plagued by over-complexity and is failing to make a real difference where it is needed."Įmma Spiller (pictured top) is a single mother from Hebburn. He said: "The Daycare Trust's excellent report confirms Gordon Brown is letting down hard-pressed families in desperate need of childcare help. Nevertheless, Paul Goodman, shadow minister for childcare, slammed the Government and accused them of failing parents through the hit-or-miss family tax credits system. "The Childcare Bill, currently going through Parliament, places a duty on each local authority to secure sufficient childcare in their local area." "This year's Daycare Trust survey reveals no general pattern of increase in average childcare costs across the whole country. She said: "We are focused in providing help for families with affordable childcare, in particular for families who need it most. The trust's fifth annual survey of childcare costs found the sharpest rises over the past 12 months were in Wales, with prices up 7% on average, and Scotland - up 8%.Ĭhildren's Minister Beverley Hughes hit back, insisting the Government had made "a huge investment" of #17bn since 1997 on reforms and measures to help bring prices down. "But now we urgently need a review of the funding system for childcare to ensure all children have access to good quality services, regardless of their family income." "The Government has worked hard to make many more childcare places available for parents. But calls to our information line show many parents struggle to find services they can afford and many are missing out on the benefits for their children, as well as being unable to work or train. She said: "Parents in the UK pay the bulk of the costs of childcare. And she called on the Government to step in and help out. But Christine Walton, Daycare Trust chief executive, warned that parents were facing an ever-increasing burden to meet the escalating costs of finding their children adequate care. ![]() Good childcare, they say, can have a positive and lasting impact on children's well-being. The experts claim it's worth shelling out. ![]() For the first time it is childminders rather than nurseries who are in the money, charging the highest prices - sometimes as much as #500 a week for full-time care. ![]() Astonishing stuff.Ī typical full-time nursery place for a child under the age of two in the UK is now #142 per week, according to the Daycare Trust charity. New figures out this week reveal the cost of a nursery place has risen by 27% over the past five years, and parents are now paying up to #21,000 a year. Chief Features Writer Beth Neil spoke to North East families about how they juggle the finances.īringing up children is not an easy job. The rising cost of childcare is leaving parents out of pocket.
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