The average annual cost of having a baby or toddler in a nursery full-time has risen to £7000-£8000.
The Daycare Trusts' Childcare Costs survey for 2008 found that families are facing above inflation increases in the cost of childcare for the seventh year in a row.
Alison Garnham, Joint-Chief Executive, said: "Daycare Trust urges all parents to make sure they're getting all the help they're entitled to; claiming tax credits - which can cover up to 80 per cent of childcare costs - and vouchers from your employer can cut the cost of childcare considerably. Also, every parent should be aware that they are entitled to 12.5 hours of nursery education free of charge when their child is three. But even so, parents in the UK are still paying a bigger share - around 70 per cent on average - of this spiralling cost than their neighbours in Europe, where the average is nearer 30 per cent."
The average cost of a nursery place in weekly terms is £159 . As the average weekly earnings are £457, this is clearly a large proportion of a family's income.
January 2008
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Families Struggle to Pay Nursery Fees
