Parents are clobbered by childcare costs as 5K providers closed in a year

PARENTS are being clobbered by crippling childcare costs as more than 5,000 providers closed in the past year, shock research shows.

Poorer families are now spending more than a quarter of their wages on minders to look after their kids.

Analysis of official stats shows more than 7,000 childminders have quit the industry in the past two years – nearly a fifth of the workforce.

Mums and dads in the North East saw the biggest hit with a 10 per cent fall in nurseries and childminders in the last year alone, Labour’s figures reveal.

Nursery costs have also jumped by more than £15 a week – £600 a year – since 2018.

Parents on minimum wage are bearing the brunt of the closures, now forking out 27 per cent of their income on childcare compared to 14 per cent a decade ago.

The struggle to find care for their kids is also forcing more women to quit their jobs.

Last year saw a 3 per cent rise in the number of mums not looking for work – the first increase in three decades.

Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Philipson said the childcare system had been pushed to “breaking point”.

She said: “Labour will create a new modern childcare system from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school, giving parents choices and the growth our economy needs.

“The first step on that road will be breakfast clubs for every primary school child in England, with councils enabled to open new maintained nurseries.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We know that many households and childcare providers are facing pressures from recession and high inflation.

“Improving the cost, choice and availability of high-quality childcare for working parents is important for this Government.

“We have spent more than £20billion over the past five years to support families with the cost of childcare and the number of places available in England has remained stable since 2015, with thousands of parents benefitting from this support.”