Bassetlaw: Nursery prices up to 20 per cent more expensive than regional average, report says

The Family and Childcare Trust’s 14th annual survey was based on 196 UK local authority responses regarding the cost of 25 and 50 hours of childcare in local nurseries or childminders.

Parents in the East Midlands have seen the steepest rises, with part-time nursery care for under-twos costing an average of £118.82 a week - a 26 per cent increase since 2014.

The charity’s survey states: “Nottinghamshire County Council has not undertaken any childcare sufficiency assessments since 2011, so it is difficult to see if there are gaps in provision.“

“Previous reports identified a shortage of holiday childcare and shortages of all types of childcare in deprived areas where providers sometimes struggle to break even.”

“This local authority needs to ensure that there are no gaps in provision that can act to drive up the costs in Bassetlaw.”

Justine Gibling, group manager for Early Years and Early Intervention at Notts County Council, said: “We undertook an audit to ensure we had sufficient childcare in 2014-15 and this will be updated each year with the audit for 2015-16 to be produced in April. This identifies any shortage in the availability of places for young children and then informs how we work with the sector to develop the market to provide good quality sustainable childcare.”

Childminder prices in Bassetlaw are similar to the regional average whilst after-school and holiday childcare prices tend to be a little cheaper.

The East Midlands average prices are £118.82 per week for a part-time nursery place for a child under two, cost of a childminder is £3.70 per hour, with after-school clubs averaging at £48.20 per week and £128.44 per week for holiday clubs.

Stephen Dunmore, chief executive at the Family and Childcare Trust, said: “During this Parliament we have welcomed extra support for parents through the new tax free voucher scheme. But if childcare costs continue to rise at this pace, the benefits of this new financial support to parents will be quickly eroded.”