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Struggling parents spend £10 billion on childcare during school summer holidays

  • Parents are spending £10 billion on childcare over school summer holidays – the equivalent to £1,704 between now and September

  • A further £13 billion will be spent on holidays and days out

  • 48% of parents who need childcare are relying on family for free help, while activity clubs (23%), childminders (20%), nursery daycare (27%) and summer camps (12%) come into their own

  • 4 in 10 (39%) parents needing childcare regret not spending as much time with their children as they would like, and a quarter of parents (26%) find school holidays stressful

  • 63% of parents think the Government’s plans for tax-free childcare do not go far enough

  • Regional differences: the capital is the most expensive for childcare with parents forking out £103 per day compared to £41 per day in Yorkshire.

Parents across the UK are dealing with a summer nightmare of having to fund childcare for their little ones, with the average parent spending £1,704 over the six week period or £71 per day, according to Uswitch.com, the price comparison and switching service.

With the average income currently just £1,770 per month after tax and NI, many parents are faced with the very real prospect of setting aside an entire month’s take-home pay to cover childcare. And this bill comes before families have had any fun: parents plan to spend an additional £13 billion on holidays, days out and ice creams, according to the research.

The good news is that almost half of parents (48%) seeking childcare have the support of wider family to look after their children for free this summer. However, those not lucky enough to have free help this summer may end up paying an average figure closer to £2,000 on childcare over the summer period.

Nursery daycare (27%) and activity clubs (23%) are the most popular choices this summer, while 20% turn to childminders, 12% send their children to summer camps and 9% hire a nanny. Some 11% will even pay family members to help out.

But it’s not just the financial cost of the school summer holidays which is taking its toll on working parents. Almost four in ten (39%) regret that they are not able to spend as much time with their children as they would like and one in three (29%) worry that they are inconveniencing their family and friends by asking them to look after their children. Parents are split with one in five (21%) assured that their children will enjoy a summer without seeing their parents that often, while one in five (21%) worry that their kids will be bored.

Overall, a quarter of parents (26%) find the school summer holidays a stressful time of year and one in five (19%) find them complicated, perhaps with the extra organising of activities and juggling of finances. However, thankfully, four in ten (40%) do manage to let their hair down and have some fun.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at Uswitch.com, says: “The amount parents are paying out this summer on childcare is incredible – it’s more than the GDP of Iceland. And this is just for the privilege of going to work, when many would really rather be out having fun with their families.

“The Government has acknowledged that the skyrocketing cost of childcare needs to be addressed, but parents say the proposed measures do not go far enough. These figures should be a wake-up call for the political parties to put this issue at the forefront of their manifestos this autumn.”

Regional differences

  • Wales has the most free family support (76%) and spends the least on childcare at £34 per day

  • London spends the most on childcare, £103 per day

  • Children in the East of England seem to be the most entertained with 43% of parents happy their children are getting a variety of experiences, well above the national average of 30%

  • Parents in the South West have the most fun during the summer holidays (50%) contrary to the North East where the smallest number find them fun (31%)

  • Parents in London are the most relaxed (39%)

  • Parents in South East are the most stressed (31%)

  • Parents in London spend the most on holidays, £1,079, over the six week period

  • Wales comes out top again having to spend the least amount on holidays at £634.

Regional breakdown – cost of summer holidays

Cost of ChildcareCost of Holidays% with free family help
North East£66£94539%
North West£65£93749%
Yorks & Humber£41£97758%
East Midlands£70£78445%
West Midlands£54£85451%
East of England£55£79051%
London£103£1,07931%
South East£72£93650%
South West£59£67544%
Wales£34£63476%
Scotland£51£1,05861%

*Sample size below 50 respondents

Top 3 Most Stressed Parents

South East (31%)

North East / Scotland (30%)

Yorshire and Humber (29%)

Top 3 Most Relaxed Parents

London (39%)

East of England (34%)

South West / North East / North West (28%)

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Charlotte Nunes

Phone: 020 7148 4664

Email: charlotte.nunes@uswitch.com

Twitter: @uswitchPR

Notes to editors

All research referred to was conducted by Opinium unless otherwise stated. Opinium Research carried an online survey of 2,000+ UK parents of children age under 15, which consists of 1,004 mothers with children under age 4 and 1,006 parents with children under age 15, from 11th to 19th July 2014. Percentages and figures not used in grossed up calculations refer to the proportion of the whole sample, while grossed up figures and figures used in their calculation refer to the sub-samples of parents of children under 15 or mothers of children under 4, each of which have been weighted to nationally representative criteria based on previous Opinium surveys. 1.27% of respondents on a nationally representative survey indicated that they had child(ren) under age 15 (ages 0 to 14). Results show that 43% of parents with child(ren) under age 15 plan to find childcare for their child(ren). Of these, respondents estimate that childcare will cost on average £71 per day, and also plan to find childcare for 1 child and for 4 days a week throughout the summer holidays on average. Uswitch calculated that 27% x 43% x 50,371,000 (2013 UK adult population according to ONS) x £71 x 4 days x 6 weeks (summer holidays) = £ 9,961,017,378. Regional breakdown on estimated total cost of childcare per day (not used in grossed up calculations): North EastNorth WestYorks & HumberEast MidlandsWest MidlandsEast of EnglandLondonSouth EastSouth WestWalesScotland £66£65£41£70£54£55£103£72£59£34£51 * Sample size below 50 respondents 2.Respondents expect to spend, on average, £983 in total going on holidays or days out with their family this summer (excluding childcare). Uswitch calculated that 27% x 50,371,000 (2013 UK adult population according to ONS, 2010) x £983 = £13,368,967,110. Regional breakdown on expected cost of going on holidays or days out with the family (not used in grossed up calculations): North EastNorth WestYorks & HumberEast MidlandsWest MidlandsEast of EnglandLondonSouth EastSouth WestWalesScotland £945£937£977£784£854£790£1,079£936£675£634£1,058 3.All seeking childcare, in response to: “Which of the following types of childcare do you plan to find for your child(ren)?” 48% answered ‘family – unpaid’, 23% answered ‘activity clubs’, 20% answered ‘childminders’, 27% answered ‘nursery daycare’ 11% answered ‘family – paid’, 9% answered ‘nanny’, 17% answered ‘babysitter’, 13% answered ‘friends – unpaid’, 6%answered ‘private tutor’, 5% answered ‘friends – paid’, 3% answered ‘special needs care’, 3% answered ‘au pair’, 1 % answered ‘other (e.g. professional), 12% answered ‘summer camps’ and 1% answered ‘don’t know/unsure’. 4.All seeking childcare, in response to: “Which of the following statements, if any, reflect your views on your child(ren) having childcare during the summer holidays?” 39% answered ‘I regret not being able to spend as much time as I would like with my child(ren) over the summer holidays’, 30% answered ‘I’m satisfied that my children get a variety of experiences without me being there’, 29% answered ‘I am concerned that other people are inconvenienced having to look after my children’, 27% answered ‘Childcare allows me to focus on other aspects of my daily life (e.g. job)’, 21% answered ‘Childcare leaves me assured that my children will enjoy their summer without me being there’, 21% answered ‘I worry that my children are bored’, 17% answered ‘Childcare gives me time to relax’, 5% answered ‘None of the above’. Regional breakdown sample: of the 72 East of England respondents, 43% answered ‘I’m satisfied that my children get a variety of experiences without me being there’ 5.All respondents, in response to: “Based on your recent experiences, which of the following words do you associate with how your summer is spent?” 45% answered ‘expensive’, 40% answered ‘fun’, 28% answered ‘relaxing’, 26% answered ‘stressful’, 19% answered ‘complicated’, 18% answered ‘simple’, 7% answered ‘cheap’, 5% answered ‘boring’, 5% answered ‘none of the above’, 4% answered ‘don’t know/unsure’. Regional breakdown sample: 31% of 105 North East respondents and 50% of 160 South West respondents answered ‘fun’. 39% of the 256 London respondents answered ‘relaxing’, 34% of the 169 East of England respondents answered ‘relaxing’, 28% of the 160 South West respondents answered ‘relaxing’. 31% of the 317 South East respondents answered ‘stressful’, 30% of the 105 North East respondents answered ‘stressful’, 30% of the 126 Scottish respondents answered ‘stressful’, 29% of the 175 Yorkshire and Humber respondents answered ‘stressful’. 6.All respondents, in response to: “The planned scheme by the government to replace childcare vouchers with tax free childcare will enable some parents in the UK to claim back up to £1,200 a year for each child under five years old - or 20% of childcare costs. However, both parents would need to be working to be eligible so many families could miss out. To what extent, if any, do you agree or disagree with the following statements?” “The scheme does not go far enough to reduce the cost of childcare”, 31% ‘strongly agree’, 32% ‘slightly agree’, 24% ‘neither agree nor disagree’, 5% ‘slightly disagree’, 3% ‘strongly disagree’, 5% ‘don’t know / no opinion’. 7.Based on gross monthly salary of £2,240 from Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2013 Provisional Results, ONS and using http://listentotaxman.com/index.php. 8.Results show that the average of people paying something for childcare in note 1 (excluding those who answered ‘nothing’ and ‘don’t know / unsure’) is £80 and they plan to find childcare for 1 child and for 4 days a week throughout the summer holidays on average. Uswitch calculated that £80 x 4 days x 6 weeks (summer holidays) = £1,920 9.The Welsh respondents seeking childcare are a small sample size of 41. When asked: “Which of the following types of childcare do you plan to find for your child(ren)?” 41 respondents with childcare were from Wales and 76% (31 people) answered ‘family – unpaid’. 10.GDP of Iceland is $15 billion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

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