Childcare costs call into doubt government proposals on lone parents

Commenting on the publication today of Daycare Trust’s Annual Childcare Costs survey, which showed an increase in out-of-school club childcare costs of six times inflation, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, Kate Green, said:

“The cost of childcare is a great worry for many families. For lone parents, rising charges can mean having to turn down work or quit a job they enjoy.

“This is extremely worrying when the Government is planning to push lone parents into work, or take away their benefits. Most of them want to work, but how can they afford the childcare? The Government could be about to make Britain’s growing child poverty even worse.”

 

Notes for editors

• The Annual Childcare Costs survey can be found here: http://www.daycaretrust.org.uk/mod/fileman/files/Cost_survey2008.pdf
• CPAG is one of over 100 member organisations of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, campaigning for public and political commitment to ensure the goals of halving child poverty by 2010 and ending child poverty by 2020 are met.

For further information please contact:
Tim Nichols
CPAG Press Officer
Tel. 020 7812 5216 or 07816 909302
tnichols@cpag.org.uk