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A damning new study shows more parents are taking on debt to cover childcare costs.
A study by Pregnant then Screwed and Women In Data found that 46 per cent of UK parents with children under five said they had run up debt or were forced to dip into their savings to pay child support. , an increase of 30 percent from last year. Year.
Researchers also found that around one in five parents of children under five have been forced to take money out of their savings or pension to cover childcare costs.
And about one in four say they have had to use credit cards, take out a loan or borrow money from relatives or friends.
The situation is even worse for single parents with children under the age of five, with two-thirds of them taking on debt to fund childcare, according to the survey.
Joeli Brearley, founder and CEO of Pregnant then Screwed, said: “We are not only facing a cost of living crisis, we are also facing a labor cost crisis that disproportionately affects mothers. ”.
Her comments came after Prime Minister Jeremy Hunt unveiled a major extension of free childcare for parents last spring in a bid to win back voters, with working parents with children under the age of five It has been announced that parents can claim 30 hours of free childcare for 38 weeks a year. September 2025.
but, independent person The government recently revealed that thousands of nurseries are closing amid staffing shortages, sparking fears that its promise to expand free childcare is “doomed to fail”.
Mr Brealey warned that the implementation of the government’s new free childcare provisions will be difficult and many parents are still waiting to find out if they will be able to secure a funded childcare slot.
He said many others were “complaining that subsidized after-hours childcare costs have increased significantly, with minimal cost savings,” adding, “After years of disappointment, “It’s clear that parents are having trouble believing promises that things will get better,” he added. Better. ”
Researchers surveyed 35,800 parents for the new report, using a nationally representative sample of 5,870 parents.
“Being a parent is hard enough, but when having more children means sacrificing your income, having children can feel like financial suicide,” Brearley said. Ta. “If we are not careful, parenthood will become a luxury that the economy cannot afford.”
The survey found that around half of parents with children under five in the UK reported being forced to spend more than a quarter of their household income on childcare, which was the highest in the last year. This has increased by 16% since then.
Meanwhile, a third of parents warned that waiting lists for childcare workers were more than nine months long, but only 13% of parents said they had no problem finding childcare spots nearby.
independent person We recently revealed expert warnings that Mr Hunt’s budget childcare pledge is rapidly unraveling amid “chaos” over funding arrangements. Some have warned that the sector has not been given enough cash or support to meet its commitments until April.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has found that the UK has one of the most expensive childcare systems in the world.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Our average funding rate for new entitlements is expected to be significantly higher than the hourly rate paid by parents last year, and we are already encouraging increased intake across the country. “We’re seeing providers that are considering it.”
“We published funding rates in November and are encouraging local authorities to confirm their rates by the end of the month.”
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