Nursery costs rise to almost £200 a week

The cost of sending a child to nursery has soared, new figures show.

The average price of pre-school care has increased by 17 per cent in a year. It can now cost an average of £200 a week to send a child to a nursery in some London boroughs.

Stephen Burke, director of the Daycare Trust which carried out the survey of private and council run childcare, described the situation as "grim". He said: "Parents right now need more access to affordable, quality childcare to suit their needs."

The survey shows that:

The survey looks at average prices for private and state childcare.

But a separate Evening Standard study shows prices running almost as high in the state-subsidised sector, where the average cost of a nursery is almost £140 a week.

Over a year that adds up to £7,200. Meanwhile, the average weekly cost of a council childminder in London is £186 - or £9,600 for 52 weeks. The figures mask wide geographical variations. Some boroughs have no council nurseries at all. Others offer free places, with eligibility based on catchment areas, or parents are means-tested.

Lowest fees are in Lambeth at £92. Parents in Camden pay £200 a week.

Maggy Meade- King, from pressure group Working Families, said: "Parents are in a very difficult position. Evening Standard survey shows how expensive childcare is, but parents also face high costs for housing and travel - and often have to commute long distances."

Ms Meade-King added: "Families have to make very difficult decisions about how to balance the books. Often the answer is one or both partners working fewer days a week to save on childcare. But then you are earning less."