Chiswick Childcare Costs 'Highest In Borough'

Labour's Ruth Cadbury says hourly rate can be three times higher

Parents in Chiswick are paying substantially more for childcare than those in the rest of the borough and across London, according to Labour’s Ruth Cadbury. 

She said she had seen figures that show that some Chiswick childminders charge three times the borough norm of £5 per hour per child. Chiswick parents are paying over £21,000 a year for fifty hours care for a child aged under two, while the average across the whole borough of Hounslow is almost £16,000.

A report released last week showed that London’s childcare costs are already above the national average.

“For many families paying for childcare can be as much as having a second mortgage and childcare costs can be a major barrier to getting into work and making ends meet,” said Cllr Cadbury who is standing as the Labour candidate in next year’s General Election.

Ruth Cadbury talking to a local mother

She added; "Families in Chiswick and across the borough are facing a cost of living of crisis, and childcare costs are at the heart of the problem for many local families. Parents are unable to return to work and more women are being forced to work part time because the costs of full time childcare are increasingly out of their reach.” 

According to latest figures from the Labour Party and Family and Childcare Trust, the average cost of 25 hours nursery care in London is over £140 a week, a rise of 20% in the last year. The average cost of 50 hours of childcare per week for a child under two is nearly £14,000 a year. But in Chiswick, parents are paying over £21,000 a year while the average across the whole borough of Hounslow is almost £16,000. You can read more here.

A recent report by the Institute of Public Policy showed that increasing overall maternal employment by five percentage points ( 62 per cent) would be worth £750 million annually in increased tax revenue and reduced benefit spending across the UK.

Ruth added: “Labour’s commitment to 25 hours free childcare for 3 and 4 year old children of working parents would make a real difference for them, and to the economy.  Over 2000 3-4 year olds in this borough would be eligible for the additional help, saving parents as much as £1,500 per child.  Families simply can’t go on with childcare costs continuing to increase.”  

“Supporting mothers into work also brings increased tax revenue and reduced benefit spending, so helping with childcare costs provides a win for families, and for the economy.”

The Labour Party has been campaigning on the cost of living on a number of occasions in Chiswick, holding “Cost of Cameron” street stalls on Chiswick High Road. The party has also collected signatures on Energy Freeze petitions. 

March 11, 2014