Childcare costs have risen by 7% in the last 12 months, according to new report - and supply shortages are still a major issue

Children sitting at table at nursery with their key workers.

A new report has highlighted how high childcare costs have got even higher over the last 12 months and laid bare the impact of chronic childcare shortages.

Parents are not new to dealing with high average childcare costs, sometimes with devastating consequences - a recent survey found that 85 per cent of parents cited the high cost of childcare as the main reason they weren't expanding their family.