Fees soar as nurseries strain to bring in 'free' childcare

The next phase of Jeremy Hunt's plan starts tomorrow but parents say promises of saving £7,000 a year appear dubious

- ALEX ROSS

Families are being stung by huge rises in nursery fees as underpressure early-years providers struggle to roll out the next stage of Jeremy Hunt’s ambitious scheme for free childcare.

Under what was described as the biggest ever public investment in childcare in England, the former chancellor pledged to provide 30 hours of free childcare for children aged from nine months by September next year. It was claimed that parents would be able to save almost £7,000 a year.

But on the eve of the second phase of the £4bn rollout, with 15 hours to be given to under-twos from tomorrow, The Independent has found that underfunded nurseries are being forced to put up prices to stay open and parents are scrambling due to a shortage of places. Bosses have also introduced additional charges to cover the funded hours for items such as food and nappies.

It means parents are having to pick up a bill for the scheme with a third being told to expect price rises outside funded hours over the next six months, according to a survey by Pregnant Then Screwed. Three in four also say they are being charged the additional fees on funded hours, with almost a third saying it comes to at least £10 a day.

The rise in fees and additional costs are a shock to many parents who believed they would be seeing greater savings on entering their child into free hours for the first time tomorrow.

And it comes after a parent survey published by the charity Coram Family and Childcare earlier this year found the cost of full-time childcare at nurseries had already risen across all age groups since last year.

The full-time childcare cost at nurseries for under-twos, according to the report, went up 6 per cent to as much as £14,645 a year across the UK, rising to £20,557 in inner London.