Childcare costs are forcing women in Britain out of work. It needn’t be this way

‘One in four parents have had to cut down on necessary expenses such as food or heating to afford childcare.’ Photograph: Alex Hinds/Alamy

For the first time in decades, the number of women not returning to work after having a baby is on the rise.

To find the reason why, we don’t have to look much further than the spiralling cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under two, which has risen from an average of £236 a week in 2018, to £274 in 2022. That means, for many women with two or more young children, the cost of childcare far outstrips their salary. The numbers simply don’t add up.