Families in the South West are now spending more than £1,100 a month on childcare on average, according to new figures. The TUC has found that the average family in the region now spends £1,147 on childcare each month - which equates to £13,764 a year.
In comparison, back in 2012, families in the South West were spending an annual average of £11,785 on childcare (£982 a month) - meaning childcare costs have increased by 17 per cent in the space of nine years across the region.
The TUC found the South West is just below the England average (£1,185) when it comes to monthly childcare fees. However, outside of London and the South East, the South West now has some of the highest monthly childcare fees together with the East of England (£1,316 average) and the West Midlands (£1,157 average).
READ MORE: Leaping Lambs shuts five nurseries in the Bristol area amid Ofsted investigation
A protest demanding affordable childcare, improvements in parental leave and flexible working hours is coming to Bristol next week. Ahead of this, we are looking into the state of childcare in the city and are looking to speak with both families and providers.
From long waiting lists to being let down last minute and annual costs running into the thousands, we would love to hear your experience. Please contact our reporter Estel directly on estel.farellroig@reachplc.com
The TUC is calling for universal free childcare after their new analysis revealed that nursery fees have “skyrocketed” across England over the last decade. It found that, in 2012, only two English regions (London and the South East) had monthly childcare fees of £1,000 or more.
But today nurseries in every English region are, on average, charging parents over £1,000 a month. The union body estimates that by 2026 nursery bills will have risen to £2,000 a month in inner London and will reach the same level in the East of England by 2027.
TUC Regional Secretary Nigel Costley said: “High-quality childcare should be affordable for all parents. It’s how we keep women in work and close the gender pay gap.
“But in this cost-of-living emergency, working families in the South West are spending more and more of their pay packets on childcare bills, while their wages stagnate. This is putting huge stress on family budgets at the same time as other living costs are shooting up.
“Cutting staffing ratios isn’t the answer. It would simply put more pressure on our already overstretched, underpaid and undervalued childcare workers.
“We desperately need free, quality childcare for all parents – and a long overdue pay rise for childcare workers.”
Managing director of Coram Family and Childcare Megan Jarvie said: “Childcare is a key part of our country's infrastructure. It enables parents to work and helps to boost young children's outcomes.
“But the high costs faced by families mean that it is out of reach for too many families. Parents, and mothers in particular, are frozen out of work and children are missing out on this golden opportunity to improve their life chances and narrow the achievement gap between disadvantaged children and their peers.
“We want to see the next Prime Minister recognise the value of childcare and make sure that every family can access the high-quality childcare they need.”
In a statement, the TUC said that the UK spends less than 0.1% of GDP on childcare, the second lowest investment in the OECD, and that the country now has the second highest childcare costs among leading economies.
An estimated 1.7 million women are prevented from taking on more hours of paid work due to childcare issues, it said, resulting in a loss of up to £28.2 bn in economic output each year. A TUC poll of working parents with pre-school children revealed that one in three (32%) spend more than a third of their wages on childcare. Around one in seven (15%) say that the costs take up more than half of their pay.
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Leaping Lambs shuts five nurseries in the Bristol area amid Ofsted investigation
