Alliance rejects claims of 19% childcare cost rises
13th January 2014
The Pre-school Learning Alliance has refuted the findings of a report released today by findababysitter.com, which claims that the cost of childcare in the UK has increased by an average of 19% over the past year.
Commenting on the report, Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch said:
“Saying that childcare costs have risen by 19% might make for a snappy headline, but such figures simply do not align with reality for the vast majority of early years providers, especially the group settings and childminders that the Alliance represents.
“This survey only cites changes in the rates of nannies, babysitters, mother’s helpers and housekeepers. While such childcare professionals may make up the majority of findababysitter.com’s own client base, they only comprise a small proportion of early years providers across the country. As such, the results of such a survey are in no way representative of what is happening in the childcare market as a whole.
“Of the many multiple- and single-site providers I have spoken to over the past year, I have never come across a single one that has imposed anything close to the rate increases being quoted in this report. Indeed these figures completely contradict the findings of the recent Children and Families Trust survey published earlier this year.
“Of course, although we do not recognise the figures cited in the findababysitter.com report, we do acknowledge that many parents and families are indeed struggling to cope with rising childcare costs. At the same time, lack of sufficient government funding means that many providers are still struggling to break even and wages in the sector remain extremely low.
“There is no quick or easy solution this to this: the government simply must start investing adequately into childcare in this country. As it stands, we only invest half as much as a percentage of GDP as the countries we are often told we should be emulating, such as Sweden and Denmark. Unless the government accepts the need to increase early years funding, the challenges currently facing both parents and providers are likely to continue in the long term.”
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Notes for editors
- The Pre-school Learning Alliance is the largest voluntary sector provider of quality affordable childcare and education in England.
- Through direct provision and its membership of 14,000 nurseries, sessional pre-schools and parent and toddler groups, the Alliance supports over 800,000 children and their families in England. The Alliance also develops and runs family learning programmes, offers information and advice, runs acclaimed training and accreditation programmes and campaigns to influence early years policy and practice.
- For information about the Pre-school Learning Alliance, visit our website: