The Family and Childcare Trust’s new annual report has shown that many parents are paying more for childcare than the cost of an average mortgage.
The report found that the average childcare fees for one child in part-time nursery and another in an after-school club is £7,549 a year.
Full-time childcare for a family with two children aged two and five can cost £11,700 a year.
In comparison, the cost of an average mortgage in 2012 was estimated at £7,207 a year.
The Family and Childcare Trust say that childcare is increasingly becoming more unaffordable in England and Scotland with costs rising 27% since 2009 while incomes have stayed the same.
This is despite the government spending £6bn every year supporting childcare.
Children in England are entitled to 570 hours of free part-time education after their third birthday. Despite this, many parents end up contributing a substantial part of their income to cover the cost of childcare.
The report found that in 2012, only Swiss parents contributed more of their salary towards childcare.
The report claimed that the current system was not working for everyone.
“Children are losing out on vital early education and families remain trapped in poverty because they cannot make work pay.
“Childcare providers struggle with debts. Women fail to return to the labour market after they have children and the economy loses their skills and their taxes.”
With parents contributing such a high percentage of their income towards childcare, repaying debts can be put on the back burner and in some cases parents struggle to keep up with contractual payments.
Remember if you’re struggling with debts there are options available to you.
The Debt Advisor can advise on all kinds of debt solutions such as Protocol Complaint Debt Management Plans (P-DMP), Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) and Bankruptcy.
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