High childcare costs are being blamed for families not being able to have a decent standard of living, according to a report issued by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.  

 

New research from Loughborough University, which analyses the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) for the UK, found that parents are being left £2,600 short of being able to make ends meets.

 

 

The report explains how even with the National Minimum Wage being £7.20 an hour high childcare costs are hugely prohibitive on a family's financial situation. 

 

 

Calling for the Government to undertake a "radical overhaul of the childcare system to make it easier for families to balance earning and caring," they have issued to following recommendations: 

  • Building on the Government’s existing free childcare offer (15 hours for 3 and 4 year olds) by making the free hours entitlement available for 48 rather than 38 weeks of the year and across the full working day.
  • Make childcare free to families on the lowest incomes, with costs capped at 10 per cent of disposable income for those with low to middle incomes.
  • Increasing the quality of childcare to support child development, by increasing investment to 0.85 per cent of GDP, up from allocated childcare spending of approximately 0.48 per cent in 2017/18 and moving to a graduate-led system of childcare workers.

“Childcare has become the one of the biggest barriers to reaching a decent living standard in modern Britain. Work should always be the best route to a better life, but these figures show that a comprehensive plan to bring down the high cost of childcare, and improve the returns from working more hours, is desperately need," Julia Unwin, Chief Executive of JRF, said. 

 

 

“Having promoted greater access to childcare, the Government now faces the challenge of ensuring that it truly becomes affordable and available to help ease the strain on parents’ juggling working and caring. A radical overhaul is needed.”

 

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