The cost of a nursery place in London has spiralled to £14,000 a year, new figures reveal.
It means London parents are paying more for childcare than the fees for many private schools. The most expensive nurseries are charging up to £42,000 a year for a full-time place.
The price of childcare is highest in the capital and paying nursery fees is now akin to taking on a second mortgage for many parents, according to a report by the Daycare Trust and the Family and Parenting Institute. National figures show the average cost of a full-time nursery place is £11,000 — almost double what it was 10 years ago.
Londoners are paying £133 per week for a part-time nursery place for a two-year-old. The national average is £106, a rise of 4.2 per cent in a year.
Anand Shukla, chief executive of Daycare Trust and the Family and Parenting Institute, said: “The survey makes clear that, from a parent’s perspective, costs are increasingly difficult to manage.”
The report points to a “market failure in our childcare system”, with a lack of new providers setting up to meet levels of demand in some areas.
