TUC calls for universal free childcare for pre-school children as nursery bills “skyrocket” across England

• In the current cost-of-living emergency, average monthly full-time nursery bills have risen to over £1,000 in every English region and will soon reach £2,000 in some 

• Union body calls on ministers to set out their plan to cut childcare costs, deliver free, quality childcare for all parents – and give an overdue pay rise for childcare workers  

The TUC has today (Saturday) called for universal free childcare for pre-school children after new analysis revealed that nursery fees have “skyrocketed” across England over the last decade. 

The TUC analysis shows that the cost of childcare for parents with children under two has increased by nearly £3,000 a year in England in the last decade. 

In 2012 the average full-time nursery bill for a family with a child under 2 was £11,300. But in 2021 it had risen to £14,200 - an increase of 26%. 

Fees rising across the country 

The TUC analysis shows how childcare fees have shot up throughout England over the past decade – with the East of England (+42%) and the West Midlands (+38%) seeing the biggest rises. 

In 2012 only two English regions (London and the South East) had monthly childcare fees of £1,000 or more. 

But today nurseries in every English region are, on average, charging parents over £1,000 a month. 

£2,000 monthly fees “around the corner” 

The TUC warns that if childcare costs continue to increase at the same rate, parents will have to fork out £2,000 a month in some parts of Britain in the near future. 

The union body estimates that by 2026 nursery bills will have risen to £2,000 a month in inner London and will reach the same level in the East of England by 2027. 

 
Highest childcare fees in the developed world 

The UK spends less than 0.1% of GDP on childcare, the second lowest investment in the OECD. And we now have the second highest childcare costs among leading economies. 

An estimated 1.7 million women are prevented from taking on more hours of paid work due to childcare issues, resulting in a loss of up to £28.2 bn in economic output each year. 

And a TUC poll of working parents with pre-school children – published in March – revealed that one in three (32%) spend more than a third of their wages on childcare. Around one in seven (15%) say that the costs take up more than half of their pay.   

Government action needed 

Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss MP has pledged to follow through on government plans to change staff-to-child ratios for young children. 

But the TUC warns that plans to reduce staffing ratios would not drive down the costs of childcare – but would instead damage quality and could force more workers out of the sector due to unmanageable workloads. 

The union body argues that the childcare industry needs urgent investment and that ministers must immediately raise spending to at least the OECD average of 0.7% of GDP on childcare. 

The TUC is calling on the government to deliver: 

• Free, high-quality childcare, available to all. This would begin from the point where paid maternity or parental leave ends.  

• Better pay and conditions for the childcare workforce. The TUC believes that this should start with guaranteeing a sector-wide higher minimum wage for the childcare sector, negotiated between unions and employers. 

• A new childcare partnership forum. The forum would bring together unions, government and employers to work together to set a fair pay agreement for childcare workers. 

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “High-quality childcare should be affordable for all parents. It’s how we keep women in work and close the gender pay gap. 

“But in this cost-of-living emergency, working families are spending more and more of their pay packets on childcare bills, while their wages stagnate. 

“This is putting huge stress on family budgets at the same time as other living costs are shooting up. 

“Cutting staffing ratios isn’t the answer. It would simply put more pressure on our already overstretched, underpaid and undervalued childcare workers.   

“We desperately need free, quality childcare for all parents – and a long overdue pay rise for childcare workers.” 

Managing Director of Coram Family and Childcare Megan Jarvie said: “Childcare is a key part of our country's infrastructure. It enables parents to work and helps to boost young children's outcomes. 

“But the high costs faced by families mean that it is out of reach for too many families. Parents, and mothers in particular, are frozen out of work and children are missing out on this golden opportunity to improve their life chances and narrow the achievement gap between disadvantaged children and their peers. 

“We want to see the next Prime Minister recognise the value of childcare and make sure that every family can access the high-quality childcare they need.”