Childcare crisis has forced one in four parents to quit their job or drop out of education
The cost of childcare has forced one in four UK parents to quit their job or drop out of education, a new study has found.
More than 7,000 parents and carers from the UK, India, Netherlands, Nigeria, Turkey and the US with children under seven were questioned by global children’s charity Theirworld.
UK parents were the most likely to find it hard to meet soaring childcare costs – with 74% saying they found it challenging. This compared to 52% in India and 68% in the US.
Most worryingly, the research found 23% of UK-based parents had either quit work or dropped out of their studies to avoid childcare costs, compared with 17% of their counterparts in Brazil, 16% in Turkey and 13% in Nigeria.
Sixty-five percent of UK parents questioned said they have had to make major financial changes, including taking on more work and spending less on food.
Some 22% said they spend between 30% and 70% of their income on childcare.
Elvira Grob, 41, who is a lecturer in design on a zero-hours contract, has been left feeling “close to burnout” because of her £975-a-month nursery bill.
Ms Grob, and her partner Michael do not want to give up their daughter’s place at a London nursery to save money because she “loves it there” and it is good for her development.
As well as retraining and studying for a degree, she returned to work two days a week when Yoomi – now ten months – was six months old.
She said: “I work in the evenings, I work when Yoomi sleeps, and I work at weekends.
“My income covers Yoomi’s childcare but I have rent to pay, and I also have to pay for my studies. It’s got to a point where I’m considering dropping my degree to help us pay our bills.”
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Childcare reform biggest ‘in my lifetime’
The crucial first five years
Theirworld chairwoman Sarah Brown, who is married to former UK prime minister Gordon Brown, is calling on governments to urgently prioritise spending on the early years.
The survey has “laid bare the scale of the global early years crisis and its impact on children in rich and poor countries alike” and change is needed because “early years childcare is as essential to a country’s infrastructure as roads, hospitals and telecommunications”, Mrs Brown said.
Read more:
‘Our £100k nursery bill’
Nursery fees to rise by £1,000 this year
Why is childcare so expensive?
This cost of childcare means those from wealthier, and more educated backgrounds start school ready to learn, but nearly 250 million children in low and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their full development potential due to poverty, inadequate nutrition, exposure to stress, and a lack of early stimulation and learning, the charity said.
The first five years, Mrs Brown said, are “are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but this is being squandered on a global scale”.
“Providing for children in their early years must be treated as a public good, not a private test of a family’s financial strength,” she added.
Free childcare funding – but not until 2025
The survey comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt made childcare a central part of his budget, with an extra £4 billion in funding over the next three years.
All eligible households in England with a child under five will receive 30 hours a week of free childcare from the moment maternity leave ends.
But critics have pointed out it will not come into full force until September 2025.
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, appearing before the Commons Liaison Committee last month, denied that the childcare system is in crisis.
He said: “I think that announcements in the Budget were warmly welcomed by the childcare sector for what they’re going to do, which is to increase the funding for childcare as it is now, but also expand the provision to cover some of the gaps in the existing system and move us into a internationally quite generous position relative to our peers on childcare.”
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
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As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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