Figures from the charity's 2006 survey of childcare costs, published earlier this week, found that average fees in the north-west had gone up by four times the rate of inflation, from 118 in 2004 to 130 in 2005.
Busy Bees director John Woodward said that the figures are useful in showing the rise in fees for parents across the country, but he said that there have been 'a few complexities in the sector' that could have had an impact on the figures.
Mr Woodward said, 'We have to look at the amount of tax credits that parents are entitled to. If you just take the headline figures but ignore the fact that parents could get up to 20 per cent through tax breaks, the net effect would be different.'
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