Parents spend more than a third of their pay on childcare, says TUC
By Rachel Lawler
A third of parents (32%) of pre-school children spend more than a third of their wages on childcare, according to a new survey carried out by BritainThinks for the TUC. Nearly one in five (18%) parents with children under five said that they spend between a third and half their salary on childcare and 15% said that the cost of childcare takes up more than half of their pay.
BME and disabled parents
Families from Black and ethnic minorities and disabled working parents were more likely to spend more of their income on childcare, with 12% of BME parents and 15% of disable spending more than half their wages on childcare, compared to 6% of white workers and non-disabled workers.
Long-term plan
The TUC has called on the government to come up with a 鈥渓ong-term plan to get wages rising across the economy鈥 and asked ministers to raise the minimum wage to 鈥渁t least鈥 拢10 an hour immediately.
It also called for an urgent cash boost for the sector to give early years workers better wages and a long-term funding settlement to make sure that childcare is "affordable and available for families".
The union body has argued that childcare is a vital part of economic recovery and that investing in its future would support working parents and help the sector recover from the pandemic.
Frances O鈥橤rady, general secretary of the TUC, said: 鈥淓very worker in Britain should be paid a wage they can live on 鈥 that goes up with the cost of living. And the government must commit to a boost in childcare funding to ensure decent affordable childcare for everyone.鈥
Urgent increase needed
Neil Leitch, CEO of the 无码天堂, commented: "All families should be able to access quality, affordable care and early education for their children - and yet we know that high childcare costs remain a huge source of financial pressure for many parents across the country.
"But let's be clear: it is the government's decision to continue to knowingly underfund the early years sector year upon year that has left settings with no choice but to increase fees and charges, or risk going out of business completely. Our two-year Freedom of Information battle with the Department for Education revealed that the government knew perfectly well that the introduction of the 30-hours offer alongside inadequate funding levels would lead to increased childcare costs, particularly for parents of younger children.
"Nurseries, pre-schools and childminders are facing many of the same cost-of-living pressures 鈥 such as spiralling inflation and soaring energy prices 鈥 as the families they support, not to mention the impact of business rate hikes, minimum wages increases and national insurance contribution rises. With government funding for the sector still nowhere near what is needed to cover these costs, things are likely to get much worse before they get better.
"As such, TUC is absolutely right to call for an urgent increase in early years funding. Only by investing what's needed in our vital sector will the government be able to ensure that all families are able to access the childcare and early education they need and deserve."