The cost of a nursery place for a child aged over two has risen twice as quickly as wages, according to a report.
The survey by the Daycare Trust, the national childcare charity, shows that despite the downturn, nursery fees for a child of two or more have increased by 4.8% since last year, "far exceeding the growth rate of 2.1% for the average wage in the same period".
The most expensive nursery in the survey was in the West Midlands, costing £11 an hour. Parents buying 50 hours a week of childcare could pay more than £28,000 a year – almost as much as at Eton.
London and the south-east remained the most expensive in Britain for all forms of childcare. In London, the average cost of 25 hours' nursery care for a child under two is £118.54, equating to £6,164 a year. By contrast, the same provision in the north-west is £82.70 a week, or £4,300 a year.
The survey, compiled from figures submitted by family information services in England, Scotland and Wales, examines by region the cost of childminders, nurseries and after-school clubs as well as the availability of childcare. The charity says it found significant rises in costs for all forms of childcare, although the expense varied considerably between regions.
