Staff pay hike could hit nursery fees

Day nurseries in England will have to find an additional £21.4m a year to pay for this autumn's 10p increase in the National Minimum Wage, according to the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA). The introduction of a one per cent rise in National Insurance to be paid by employers from next April will add a further £7m, bringing the total to £28,424,000, NDNA chief executive Rosemary Murphy said last week.