Childcare costs barrier for return to work

Spiralling childcare costs are preventing parents from returning to work, with one in four saying they would like a job but cannot afford it, a study has found.

One in four unemployed parents say they would like to work but the cost of childcare was too high, according to childcare search website Findababysitter. This ratio increases to two out of five for parents of 18- to 24-year-olds.

Half of the 1,000 parents questioned for the study said the coalitiongovernment was not doing enough to support families. It scrapped universal child benefit but last year announced that parents earning less than £150,000 would be entitled to claim £1,200 per child to help with childcare costs.

The website’s chief executive, Tom Harrow, accused politicians of a “lack of understanding” and said that “they still think the local nursery is the only option”.

Sharon Greene, women’s officer for the public services union UNISON, said: “If the country is to recover from the economic downturn the government needs to listen to working parents and take account of the needs of the modern workplace.

“That means providing funding for more affordable, flexible and quality childcare.”

www.findababysitter.com/assets/resources/A4_annual_childcare_report_2014.pdf