Parents face holiday childcare shortage

Just a few weeks away from the start of the summer holidays, more than half of all councils are offering fewer holiday clubs than last year, the charity’s tenth annual holiday childcare costs survey has found.

Average weekly costs for holiday childcare are now £96.85, compared with £58.45 ten years’ ago.

The cost of holiday childcare has risen by 3.5 per cent on average in England in the past 12 months but there are large regional variations, with costs in the North East increasing by 20 per cent.

Daycare Trust says that the increase in costs should be seen in the context of recent reductions in Tax Credit subsidies for childcare, which have led to many families on low and middle-incomes paying a higher proportion of chidlcare costs.

The survey, sponsored by Computershare Voucher Services, is compiled from figures submitted by 125 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales.

The charity warns that some parents will be forced to either leave their jobs or take unpaid leave to look after their children during the holidays.

The most expensive holiday childcare the survey found was a holiday project in South East England, which cost £405 a week. One in ten local authorities reported holiday childcare projects costing £200 a week or more.

 

Typical weekly cost of holiday childcare by region and % change 2010-2011

Region	Typical weekly cost (public sector) 2011	Public sector % change 2010-2011	Typical weekly cost (PVI) 2011	PVI % change 2010-2011	Overall average weekly cost	Mean % change
England (Regional average)	£88.02	6.6%	£105.84	1.2%	£96.85	£3.5%
Wales	£59.49	1.0%	£104.47	2.8%	£81.98	£2.2%
Scotland	£78.60	-24.6%	£100.92	4.6%	£89.79	-10.6%
Great Britain	£84.57	2.6%	£105.27	1.7%	£94.78	1.9%

Source: Daycare Trust

 

Public sector holiday childcare is cheaper than schemes run by private and voluntary providers, which the report says is due to local authorities subsidising places for low-income families. Holiday clubs run by PVI providers also tend to offer longer days, with parents paying more for this (on average 9.6 hours a day in England, compared with an average of 8.8 hours in the public sector).

While London tends to have the most expensive term-time childcare, holiday childcare is cheaper in the capital than in most other areas. The report said that this was due to the existence of more subsidised playschemes that cater for children living in high density housing. London also has a higher proportion of public sector childcare providers.

Daycare Trust’s report calls on local authorities to protect their holiday playschemes and subsidies for low-income families.

It also recommends that:

• the Government ensure that local authorities are meeting their duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to provide sufficient childcare in their area for working parents
• Government should support and promote flexible working, including term-time only contracts, and new employees should be able to request flexible working when they start a new job not just after 26 weeks in a job
• the law should be changed to allow self-employed parents should be able to claim childcare vouchers
• families Information Services and Children’s Information Service helpline should be funded by local authorities

 

'Essential services'

Anand Shukla, acting chief executive of Daycare Trust, said, 'We are extremely concerned that play services and holiday playschemes are falling victim to local government spending cuts. These are essential services that families across the country rely upon and we know that without these services many parents will have no option but to give up their job or take a period of unpaid leave that they can ill afford, in order to look after their children.

‘If families are able to access childcare, then they can expect a hefty bill. Once again, we have seen an increase in the cost of holiday childcare this year. In some regions, costs have risen dramatically since last year, putting a huge strain on families’ summer finances. For those with two or more children, the cost of holiday childcare can run to thousands of pounds – the equivalent cost of a family holiday abroad.'

Julian Foster, managing director of Computershare Voucher Services, said, ‘It’s worrying to see such a widespread drop in local authority funding for holiday childcare and what this research highlights is that it’s now more important than ever for those clubs, organisations and schemes that have retained funding or are privately run to make childcare as accessible and affordable as possible.

‘By registering with the relevant regulator – like Ofsted in England – and a childcare voucher scheme, holiday childcare organisations can enable parents to make pre-tax salary savings on their childcare – reducing the pinch felt by rising costs and the likelihood that they have to take leave from work in order to make sure their children are cared for during the holidays.’