High cost of childcare stops London parents working

Lambeth and Southwark councils' Childcare Commission, with the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), found that maternal employment in London is 15 per cent lower than in the rest of the country, mainly due to the cost of childcare.

The commission's report looks at the affordability and flexibility of childcare in the South London boroughs and makes a series of recommendations to make it easier for parents to get back to work, such as a matchmaking service, which would pair qualified childminders with parents who are looking for flexible childcare.

The commission also calls for both councils to encourage local employers to set up workplace nurseries.

Leader of Lambeth council, Councillor Lib Peck, said, ‘There is no shying away from the fact that there is a real crisis in the provision of childcare in London.

‘It’s a headache for so many new parents - trying to find good quality childcare that is flexible enough for them to go back to work and doesn’t break the bank.

‘The fact that for many new mothers, it is actually costing them to go to work, is frankly unacceptable.’

Transport for London has also been urged to consider offering new parents discounted transport fares to lower the cost of going back to work and the Mayor of London to look into providing interest-free loans to enable parents to pay upfront childcare costs.

Dame Tessa Jowell, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, who chaired the commission, said, ‘We all want to know that our children are well looked after when we can’t be there - and we don’t want it to cost the earth.

‘It’s something that every parent worries about; a seemingly simple need but with few simple solutions. Making sure that every child has a chance is how we as a society unleash the possibility of equality.

‘Parents have to be free to work while raising their families; children have to be given the nurturing environment they need to grow.’