More than half of nurseries put up their fees last year

A quarter (25 per cent) of childminders said they had increased their fees and 28 per cent of school nurseries.

• Working families' childcare costs rising faster than wages
• Closures rise as nurseries struggle with funding and admin
• The cost of a nursery place rises above inflation

It follows warnings from providers that they would be forced to put up their fees if the level of funding for the 15 and 30 hours did not rise and to meet increased costs including rises to the national living wage, pension contributions etc.

The DfE figures are based on survey responses from 5,175 nurseries, 1,649 school-based providers and 1,240 childminders between March and July.

A breakdown by area shows more nurseries in the South West and Yorkshire and Humber had put up their fees, whereas fewer nurseries had increased fees in in the North East and London.

However, the research shows that the mean hourly fee was higher in London and the South East than in any other regions. Across all provider types, the mean hourly fee for three- and four-year-olds was £6.32 in London, £5.18 in the South East and ranged from £4.30 to £4.87 across the rest of the country.

Looking at fees for younger children, the mean hourly rate charged by nurseries across England was £5.31 for two-year-olds and £5.61 for under-twos. School nurseries charged slightly more, while childminders’ fees were the lowest of all providers.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said, ‘With nearly half of group settings having increased fees over the past year, many parents are also feeling the impact of this underfunded Government policy.

‘These facts should by now be impossible for ministers to ignore, not least when they're coming from their own department. Study after study has shown that underfunding is having an impact on sustainability and is costing parents more money.’

Commenting on the figures, Labour’s shadow early years minister Tracy Brabin, said, ‘The rising cost of childcare means that parents, most often mums, are forced to stay home to look after children rather than getting back to work.

‘Providers are caught between a rock and a hard place with the Government chronically underfunding their own policies. This is just the latest evidence that they are passing costs onto parents to stay afloat.’

She added, ‘It is becoming ever clearer that the Tories’ flagship offer simply isn’t living up the promises they made in the election, and the consequences are being felt by parents across the country. Fees are rising, free places come with hidden costs, and too many families aren’t eligible for the support they need – while nurseries and other providers are being pushed to the brink of bankruptcy by a system that isn’t working.’