Childcare costs 'stop poor working'

Childcare costs 'stop poor working'

One in four parents on low incomes is unable to work because they cannot afford childcare, new research shows.

Around 28% of parents with children under 18 who are on incomes of less than £15,000 a year after tax said they had been unable to get a job or could not continue with an existing job because the cost of childcare was simply too great.

The figure compares with just 9% of parents with take-home pay of more than £15,000 who felt the same way, according to Save the Children.

The findings come as research by the Daycare Trust revealed that the cost of holiday childcare in Great Britain has soared by 8% during the past year to average £87.43 a week.

Dr Jason Strelitz, UK poverty spokesman for Save the Children, said: "Many parents on low incomes simply can't afford to go to work.

"The costs of childcare are so high that by going to work they lose more money than they make. Many parents have to leave their jobs to look after their children. The majority of parents in poverty want to work, but with no-one to look after their children they can't."

The group is calling on the Government to make it easier for parents to work by increasing their take-home pay, either by raising the working tax credit or increasing the minimum wage.

The research also found that many parents face a huge financial burden during the summer holidays, when their children are not at school, with 62% of those questioned agreeing that the summer holidays are one of the most expensive times of year for parents.

The charity wants the Government to introduce seasonal grants for the poorest families of £100 per child in both summer and winter, to help parents cope with these expensive times of year.

It said this initiative should form part of the £3 billion investment that was needed if the Government was to keep its promise of halving child poverty by 2010.