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Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: 

"We know that for many parents, returning to work after having children is becoming less and less financially viable due to the high cost of childcare in this country. But this will not, and cannot, change until the government tackles the long-running issue of early years underfunding. 

"Every year, nurseries, pre-schools and childminders see their costs rise as a result of increases in the national living and minimum wages, rent and mortgage costs, insurance premiums and a range of other business costs - and yet, for years now, government funding has failed to keep up with this. 

"As a result, many providers have had no choice but to increase parent fees to try and plug this widening funding gap - and it is those parents of younger children, who are not eligible for any government schemes - who have seen the biggest impact.

"While we fully recognise the stress and pressure that these costs place on working families, rushing to call for so-called 'free' childcare schemes to be extended to younger children isn't the answer - because if the government funds this as poorly as they have been funding the existing offers, the early years sector in this country simply will not survive.

"If we truly want to support parents to be able to access affordable, sustainable and quality early years care and education, we as a country must invest what is needed. We hope with the upcoming Budget and Spending Review, the government will take the opportunity to do just that."