Nursery World - Parents face holiday childcare shortage

Nearly two-thirds of local authorities in England have cut their budgets for holiday childcare and play services since last year, a survey by the Daycare Trust reveals.

Just a few weeks away from the start of the summer holidays, more than half of all councils are offering fewer holiday clubs than last year, the charity’s tenth annual holiday childcare costs survey has found.

Average weekly costs for holiday childcare are now £96.85, compared with £58.45 ten years’ ago.

The cost of holiday childcare has risen by 3.5 per cent on average in England in the past 12 months but there are large regional variations, with costs in the North East increasing by 20 per cent.

Daycare Trust says that the increase in costs should be seen in the context of recent reductions in Tax Credit subsidies for childcare, which have led to many families on low and middle-incomes paying a higher proportion of chidlcare costs.

The survey, sponsored by Computershare Voucher Services, is compiled from figures submitted by 125 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales.

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