3. 3
Invest in Childcare, Invest in London
Around 30 per cent of households in London are families with a dependent child,1
and the
capital has a higher share of under-fives than regions elsewhere in the country.2
For families
and for the city economy to thrive in the long-term, London needs a childcare system which
is affordable and flexible for families, enabling parents to work if they wish to do so, and which
also nurtures our youngest residents.
The challenges facing London’s childcare system are complex. The cost of and access to
childcare for London’s families is influenced by many factors specific to the capital, including
high property prices, higher living costs and wages, and longer commutes for parents.
Government policies designed to widen access to childcare and early education are welcome,
but they have not achieved the same levels of take-up in the capital as elsewhere in the
country due to some of these London specific challenges.
Childcare itself has a significant impact on maternal employment, household income, and
child poverty, affecting outcomes for children, families, and the economy. Investing in London’s
childcare system would bring many economic benefits to families and to the region as a
whole. Just 63.3 per cent of mothers with dependent children were working in London in
2013 compared with 72.9 per cent in the rest of the UK.3
The lack of high quality flexible or
part-time work in London means that many new mothers are forced to leave their jobs or
trade down positions in order to meet caring responsibilities, creating a “talent bottleneck”
through which both families and business are missing out.4
Low financial gains from moving
into work for single parents or second earners with childcare costs may also mean that work
in the capital is not a sure route out of poverty for many families.5
This paper looks at the issues around childcare for under-fives in the capital, exploring the
costs to parents, providers, and local and central government; the barriers in creating and
accessing places; and potential solutions involving a range of partners and stakeholders. We
hope the childcare system in London will receive renewed attention after the 2016 mayoral
election, and that the new Mayor will prioritise working with partners across all sectors to
drive childcare expansion and innovation in the capital. The current cost of childcare in the
capital is high, but the costs of not expanding and improving provision, for children, families,
and London as a city, are much higher.
4. 4
The cost of childcare in London
All three- and four-year-old children and 40 per cent of two-year-old children are currently entitled to 15 hours of free childcare
each week for 38 weeks of the year, or 570 hours each year. While this is helpful for parents who wish to return to work, 15 hours
is just two days a week in working hours, and most Londoners spend a considerable amount of extra time commuting, during
which time childcare is also needed.
And, when you do get the 15 hours, depending on the nursery, it doesn’t work
out like that, so they say 15 hours free, if I work 9-5, and I take my child for
about 7 hours a day, so no, it works out that you’re getting about 2 days … but
then you have to put your child in for a minimum of three days to qualify for it,
so you still end up paying more
Inner London parent6
The government plans to increase the free offer for three- and four-year-olds to 30 hours each week (or 1140 hours each year)
from 2017. Currently, families pay for any further childcare beyond the free 15 hours, although they may be able to receive tax
relief on childcare through a variety of schemes.
Two-year-old
childcare fees
24% is the EU
average
53% 6.5%
53% of the average
wage in the UK
6.5% of an average
wage in Sweden
5. 5
Tax-based childcare support
Employer-supported childcare vouchers
Parents who are working may be able to access support with childcare costs through the employer-supported childcare voucher
scheme, which provides income tax and National Insurance relief on childcare payments up to a maximum of £933 per parent each
year. Unfortunately, not all employers offer childcare vouchers, so not all families are able to benefit from this scheme.
Take-up of childcare vouchers by families in London is comparable to the rest of the UK, at 5.2 per cent in London compared
to 5.6 per cent for the UK as a whole.7
Although childcare costs are higher in London than elsewhere in the UK, the majority of
parents who use childcare vouchers claim the full annual entitlement of £933, so spending per family does not vary significantly
across the UK. The government currently spends an estimated £114.1million on tax relief through employer-based childcare
vouchers in London.
Tax-free childcare
The employer-supported childcare voucher scheme is only available to new entrants until April 2018. In 2017, the new tax-free
childcare scheme will be rolled out to eligible parents. Under the new scheme, families with children under 12 (or 17 if the child
is disabled), working more than eight hours a week and earning under £100,000 a year, will get 20 per cent of childcare costs paid
by the government through tax-relief of up to £2,000 per child. Families claiming working tax credits will not be able to access the
scheme, but a key benefit of the new tax-free childcare scheme is that it will be offered to all eligible low-income families and not
just those whose employers offer it.
The childcare element of working tax credit
Working parents with low incomes may receive the childcare element of working tax credit, which covers up to 70 per cent of the
cost of childcare. This subsidy rises to 85 per cent for parents receiving Universal Credit. Parents can get up to £122.50 per week
for one child or £210 for two or more children. The exact amount parents receive depends on their earnings as support is tapered
as income increases.
In 2013/14, 45,000 families in London received the childcare element of working tax credit at an average weekly value of £77.83,
costing an estimated total of £183million.8
HMRC data suggests that nine per cent fewer families with dependent children in
London receive support through the childcare element of working tax credit than elsewhere in the UK. The reasons for this poor
take-up are not clear, but discussion with our members suggests that many families in London do not know that they are entitled to
the childcare element of working tax credit which, confusingly, is available to families at a higher income threshold than working tax
credits. Improving advice for families on the range of childcare support they are entitled to may expand take-up of these schemes
and help families with the soaring costs of childcare in London.
Government funded free childcare
In 2014/15, around £475.3million was spent on free childcare for two-, three- and four-year-olds in London, £394.5million of which
was on delivering the offer for three- and four-year-olds in 2014/15. Although they were allocated £107.7million by government to
deliver free childcare for two-year-olds, only £80.8million was spent – 25 per cent less than allocated. This discrepancy for two-
year-old allocated funding and spending is principally explained by the low take-up of free childcare, which is largely a result of the
limited number of free places offered by providers in the capital.
6. 6
Childcare spending by parents
Childcare prices have soared in London while the cost of living has increased and wages stagnated. A part-time nursery place for a
child under two costs £7,900 a year in London, 29 per cent more than the average for England.9
Whilst a family with a low income
could expect to receive support with childcare costs through working tax credit (Universal Credit in the future), the combination
of low work allowances, a steep taper rate and high childcare prices in London mean that real work incentives for second earners
with childcare costs in London may be low .10
A mother in a couple family with two pre-school children in London could expect
to add just £90 each month to the family’s income by moving into full time work at the National Minimum Wage.11
Outside of the
capital, in the same situation, this family would gain £200 a month if the mother moved into full time work.
If we can afford it, if everyone can afford it, even those earning the minimum
wage, if they can afford it, I think everybody would love to work.
North London parent
We estimate that parents in London spend £1.39billion on childcare each year.12
This figure captures families’ spending after
they have received tax-based childcare support from the state through the childcare element of working tax credit or childcare
vouchers, which totals £291.1million. The amount spent by parents excluding this tax-based support is £1.09billion.
If parental employment levels in London were to match those seen elsewhere in the UK, overall spending by parents would rise
from £1.39billion to £1.6billion and spending by central government would rise by £43.6million to £340.7million.
Annual childcare spend in London each year
Parents in London
spend £1.39 billion
on childcare
Central government
spend £43.6 million
on London childcare
7. 7
Barriers to accessing childcare in London
Families in London are less likely to have access to informal childcare than families elsewhere in the UK. One in nine children in
London receives informal childcare; three times lower than the average of almost one in three for England,13
meaning that working
families in London are often dependent on formal childcare. However many families struggle to find childcare that is affordable,
flexible, in a suitable location, and of good quality. Parents, usually mothers, find their work, education and training opportunities
restricted by the limited childcare options available. One third of local authorities in London do not have enough childcare for
working parents, and almost all local authorities report insufficient childcare for parents working atypical hours.14
“My baby is 19 months, I’m not working because I can’t afford childminder and
there’s nowhere else I can take her, so it’s a problem, so cos of that I’m still not
working right now, I’m still taking care of her but maybe when she’s older, she’ll
be able to start childcare or something”
North London mother
While childminders are best suited to providing childcare for families working atypical hours, the number of Ofsted registered
childminders in London has dropped by 9 per cent in the last 8 years,15
reducing the number of flexible childcare options available
to families. As a high proportion of London’s jobs are within sectors dependent on shift work, such as hospitality or retail, the lack
of childcare available to employees working on irregular patterns is highly problematic, constitutes a barrier to employment in the
capital, and should be urgently addressed by the GLA, London Enterprise Panel, and partners.
Children receiving informal childcare
1 in 9 Children
London
3 in 9 Children
England
8. 8
I’m paying a quarter of my salary, that’s just for nursery or for a childminder,
and on top of that, they’re not working to my hours, I work to 9 o’clock let’s say,
from 9 o’clock to 9 o’clock, it means I have to take him to a day nursery and
then get someone to look after him in the evening
Inner London parent
Parents may also be concerned about the quality of childcare on offer. Recent focus groups found many parents struggle to find a
childcare provider they can trust, and families rely on recommendations from people they know, with some having experienced
poor quality childcare provision.16
Leaving your kids, it’s got to be with somebody you really trust, it scares me.
They look at the time and when they see that the parents are coming, then
they do all the nappies, meanwhile, all that time, 4 or 5 hours they’ll leave
them in their poo, leave them in their wee
- North London parent
Challenges for local authorities in creating childcare places
Families cannot access the free childcare offered by government if there are no free places available with providers. Across London,
just 46 per cent of eligible two-year-olds accessed free childcare in 2014/15, compared to an average of 58 per cent across
England. 17
Take-up of the free offer for three- and four-year-olds in the capital is much higher than for two-year-olds, with 85 per
cent for three-year-olds and 94 per cent for four-year-olds accessing the free childcare. The three- and four-year-old offer is widely
known about by parents and local authorities have had much longer – over a decade – to embed this offer and ensure provision is
available. However, take-up in London does remain lower than elsewhere in the country, where take-up rates are 94 per cent and
99 per cent respectively.
Local authorities across England have faced a significant challenge in delivering enough free places for two-year-olds. Unlike the
universal three- and four-year-old offer, the two-year-old offer is only available to parents with a low income. This makes it harder
for providers to offer free places because eligible parents are less likely to purchase additional hours of care. Minimum staff-child
ratios are also tighter for two-year-olds (1:4 rather than 1:8 or 1:13), and the additional staff wages, National Insurance and pension
contributions make two-year-old places more expensive for providers to deliver.
Whilst the funding rate is more generous for the two-year-old offer than the three- and four-year-old offer, it often does not cover
provider costs.18
This issue exists nationally but is particularly acute in London, where business rates, wages and rents are much
higher than in the rest of the country. Central London’s sky-high rental prices make it particularly difficult for providers to offer free
childcare places in inner boroughs, and as property prices are growing faster in London than elsewhere in the country, this trend is
set to continue.
As a result of the gap between central government funding and the actual cost of providing a free childcare place in London, local
authority efforts to create new free childcare places are hampered as providers struggle to deliver them at the funded rate. To
create free childcare places, local authorities often have to pay more per hour than they are allocated by central government from
their own budgets. London councils spend on average almost 50p more per hour per free two-year-old place than allocated by
9. 9
central government, although there is considerable variation in spending among London boroughs. Average allocations per child for
the three- and four-year-old offer range from £3.22 to £6.83 per hour. This compares to the average national allocation of £3.99.
There is less variation in allocations for the two-year-old offer, where two-thirds of London boroughs allocate between £6 and
£7 per hour. Some outer London boroughs allocated £5 to £6 per hour and two inner London boroughs, Camden and Islington,
allocated over £8. Despite low take-up rates, most local authorities are therefore spending the majority, though not all, of their
allocated budget.19
Delivery of the two-year-old offer in London
Until 2015/16, funding for the two-year-old offer was provided through the Early Intervention Grant and local authorities received
funding based on the number of eligible children, regardless of actual take-up. One reason some local authorities have not been
more successful in rolling out the two-year-old offer is that the budget for the offer has been shared with other early intervention
services. Local authorities facing significant funding reductions have therefore balanced investment in the offer with protecting
wider early years’ services.
Funding for free childcare
From 2016/17, funding for the two-year-old offer will be provided through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), alongside separate
funding for the three- and four-year-old offer. Funding in the DSG is ‘place based’: this means that local authorities will receive
funding only for places that they are actually delivering rather than for all potentially eligible children. In effect, this will reduce the
funding available for the two-year-old offer (because local authorities are delivering fewer places than there are eligible children)
and councils may find it more challenging in future to expand free childcare places.
The Government has recently announced that it will reform early years funding education and create the first national funding
formula for free childcare. This creates uncertainty for local authorities in London. Local authorities in London are clearly already
struggling to deliver free places with the funding available to them. Given the importance of free childcare in enabling parents to
work in London, it is vital that government funding reform fairly addresses the higher costs of providing a free childcare place in the
capital.
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Westminster
CityofLondon
Wandsworth
WalthamForest
TowerHamlets
Sutton
Southwark
RichmonduponThames
Redbridge
Newham
Merton
Lewisham
Lambeth
KingstonuponThames
KensingtonandChelsea
Islington
Hounslow
Hillingdon
Havering
Harrow
Haringey
HammersmithandFulham
Hackney
Greenwich
Enfield
Ealing
Croydon
Camden
Bromley
Brent
Bexley
Barnet
BarkingandDagenham
Source: Department for Education (2015) Provision for children under five years of age in England: January 2015
0
% Allocation Spend Take-up
10. 10
Expanding supply and driving innovation in childcare
Far from being a ‘no go’ area for families, London contains just as many families with children as elsewhere in the UK and, in fact,
a higher proportion of families with children under five. Yet parents in London face higher barriers to work than those elsewhere
in the UK, notably through the scarcity of flexible work and training opportunities particularly at mid- and higher-skilled levels,
the limited availability of high quality, flexible and affordable childcare, and the poor financial gains for families of a second earner
moving into employment.
The government’s failure to fund childcare in London at a rate which covers market costs means that the supply of free childcare
places cannot be expanded without either councils subsidising places from their own budgets, an unsustainable model in the
context of deep local authority cuts, or the costs being passed onto families by providers charging higher prices for additional
hours beyond the free offer. In recent years, childcare costs for London’s parents have soared and, with the government’s free
childcare offer for working parents of three and four year olds set to double to 30 hours a week, this trend is set to continue.
Without priority action by the GLA, local authorities, employers, and partners in London, the problems already faced by providers
and parents around childcare cost and supply will be exacerbated, further increasing the barriers to work for families. There are,
however, some concrete steps which can be taken to address the structural issues in London’s childcare provision and ensure that
all parents who wish to are able to work.
The Mayor and GLA
The Mayor must use their profile and influence to drive childcare expansion and innovation as a key priority on London’s agenda.
Working with councils, childcare providers, parents and employers locally and regionally, the Mayor can foster innovative childcare
solutions and mobilise underused assets in communities, including TfL and GLA spaces.
As Chair of the GLA Group and GLA Family, the Mayor must model high standards in employment practices which support
families. The GLA already has good opportunities for flexible and part-time working and offers tenancy deposit loans to employees.
Building on this, the GLA could offer an interest free loan to parents for upfront childcare registration costs, as 40 per cent of
providers require a registration deposit of up to £150 and 90 per cent ask for payment in advance.20
These up-front costs for
childcare registration are a struggle for many parents wishing to return to work, but could easily be offset by through employer
loans. A childcare deposit loan scheme for parents working in the GLA Group has already been backed by the London Assembly,
and the Mayor should include this within the package of conditions for staff.
CA Technologies’ Montessori childcare centre
Management Software company CA Technologies runs a Montessori childcare centre at its West London office. The
nursery takes children aged six weeks to six years old, with a teacher to child ratio of three to one. The company’s sport
facilities are accessible to children as well as adults, parents can drop in at various stages during the day to check on their
children, and they can eat together in the staff restaurant. CA Technologies found business benefits in reducing parental
stress, attracting and retaining working mothers and creating a better workplace environment.
Between 2008 and
2016 the cost of
childcare in London
has soared
Childminder
for a child
over 2
70%
Nursery
place
for a child
over 2
65%
11. 11
The next Mayor should set up a Universal Childcare Trust for London which can leverage money from central government and
from employers in order to address the structural issues in London’s childcare provision. The Universal Childcare Trust should
work strategically with partners to improve childcare supply, affordability, quality and flexibility in the city through targeted schemes.
These could include working with the GLA, local councils, families, employers and providers to develop innovative childcare
solutions for geographical areas, different communities, and business sectors, funding training and development for early years’
staff to improve childcare quality, and boosting the number of childminders in the city through start-up advice and training. The
Universal Childcare Trust could work with childcare providers to help them explore how to reduce inefficiencies in provision to
reduce costs, work with schools to help them offer nursery provision on-site, and set up a Mayor-backed scheme to recognise and
celebrate employers in the London business community who offer family-friendly employment.
The funding gap between central government allocations for childcare and the actual cost of provision in London is a critical
structural cause of the limited places and the high cost to parents (and local authorities) of childcare available in the capital.
The Mayor should make the case at all levels of central government that the childcare funding gap constitutes a key barrier to
employment, affecting London’s productivity and economy, and be vocal and persistent in pushing for an increased funding rate
London which fairly reflects the higher costs of the city.
Brent Flexible Childminding Pool
Brent Flexible Childminding Pool was set up in 2014. After the local authority found a key barrier to work for parents
in the borough was the lack of flexible and affordable childcare, they worked with Job Centre Plus, NHS Brent, and the
Citizen’s Advice Bureau to set up a pool of Ofsted-registered childminders who would look after children overnight, late at
night, at weekends and at short notice. As well as providing employment for the childminders, the scheme increases access
to jobs for parents in the borough, particularly those working atypical hours. All the childminders in the Pool are either
quality assured or working towards Brent’s quality assurance rating.
Local authorities
In January 2015 central government wrote to local authorities to encourage them to consider using their new control over business
rates to offer discounts to local childcare providers and informing them that they would be able to reclaim 50 per cent of the
discount back from central government. As yet, no local authorities have done this. Local authorities should work with childcare
providers to explore how they can create more free childcare places and keep prices down for parents, with council offering
business rate discounts as an incentive.
Support with childcare costs for working parents exists through employer-supported childcare vouchers, tax-free childcare, and
the childcare element of working tax credit, however many families in London miss out on this support as they don’t know they
are eligible. Local authorities should use their family information services and work with children’s centres, Job Centre Plus, local
services, community groups, and employers to promote awareness and take-up of these tax-relief based schemes.
London employers
The London Enterprise Panel’s ‘Growth Deal’ noted that London’s childcare discourages maternal employment and proposed
allocating funding to develop childcare facilities and skills to enable more mothers with young children to work in the capital. The
LEP should confirm this funding and work with partners to deliver employment schemes and childcare facilities which meet the
needs of families and business in London.
The LEP should also work with the business community in London to foster family-friendly employment, such as flexible and part-
time jobs, childcare deposit loans, and employer provided childcare. This should be done on a sector by sector basis to ensure that
the practices and models promoted are appropriate to the needs of the employers and employees.
The government currently incentivises employers to offer childcare for their staff. Employers who provide childcare through a
workplace nursery or directly contracted childcare (where an employer funds childcare offsite) can claim tax relief on the cost of
12. 12
childcare. Across the UK, approximately £850million is spent on tax relief through employer-supported childcare vouchers and
workplace nurseries. 21
Employers who do provide childcare for staff should work with the GLA, the voluntary sector and local
authorities to share their childcare models as examples of good practice and encourage other organisations to develop their own
provision. It’s clear that improving childcare provision will only benefit London’s business community, and employers should be
willing to explore the role they can play in driving childcare expansion and innovation in the capital.
Goldman Sachs’ on-site crèche
Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs opened an on-site corporate office crèche in 2003 to provide emergency back-
up childcare. In 2010 they expanded their childcare scheme and offered working parents free use of the nursery for four
weeks to support transition back to work from parental leave, and then full-time childcare for children up to three if
alternative arrangements are challenging. Goldman Sachs now offers on-site crèches in their Tokyo and New York offices,
and for offices where they can’t provide a dedicated childcare facility they try to subsidise places for their employees’
children at local nurseries. The firm also provides mother and baby rooms, expectant parent resources, and transitional
programmes for parents returning from maternity/ paternity leave.
Investing in childcare is investing in London
It has been estimated that equalising the role of men and women in the labour market could increase GDP by 10 per cent by
2030. 22
With maternal employment already lower than average in the capital, and businesses calling out for skilled workers,
investment in transforming London’s childcare would be an investment in London.
Currently, parents in London are missing out on the same level of support with childcare as parents elsewhere in the UK. If take-
up rates for free childcare in London were to match the level seen elsewhere in England, central government would spend an
additional £63.7million on childcare in London each year; £16.8million for two-year-olds and £46.9million for three- and four-year-
olds. But this requires action to assist childcare providers in being able to offer the free places, and to do so without driving up costs
for additional hours for families.
Similarly, if take-up of the childcare element of tax credits in London were similar to that elsewhere in the UK, an additional
£26.8million would be spent. This ‘missing’ spending, which has been allocated by central government to Londoners, but which isn’t
being spent because of the lack of free childcare places, currently amounts to almost £90million.
Without transforming London’s childcare provision, parents’ work and training options will remain limited while they have young
children, trapping families in poverty and stifling London’s productivity. Any viable growth strategy for London requires an effective
approach to delivering improved access to affordable childcare.
13. 13
Recommendations
THE MAYOR AND GLA SHOULD:
• Use the Mayoral profile and influence to drive childcare expansion and innovation as a key priority on London’s agenda
• Pump-prime childcare provision in London to ensure a sufficient supply of childcare places so that parents can access the
government free childcare offer, particularly the two-year old offer
• Explore the use of GLA and TfL assets (such space above stations and spare land) as spaces for childcare
• Guarantee that new schools built on GLA or TfL land will include nursery provision
• Set up a Mayor-backed scheme to promote and recognise innovation family-friendly employment by businesses
• Create a Universal Childcare Trust to maximise central government subsidies and leverage monies from London businesses and
funders to assess childcare sufficiency and strategically address structural issues in London’s childcare market
• Provide small loans and start-up advice for childminders across the city to increase the numbers of childminders working atypical
hours
• Fund a training scheme for early years settings staff in the capital to improve quality
• Ensure that the GLA, Transport for London and London Councils implement family-friendly employment arrangements,
including childcare deposit loans, for all their employees and ensure subcontractors do the same using the Social Value Act
• Work with employers, parents and local and regional partners to design childcare solutions, including before- and after-school
provision, holiday childcare, and childcare places for disabled children
• Raise at all levels with central government the higher cost of childcare provision in London and push for fair funding for the free
childcare offers which accurately reflects market costs in the capital
• Fund children’s centres to become inclusive and enhanced children’s centres in order to tackle the huge shortage of childcare for
children with SEND
LOCAL AUTHORITIES SHOULD:
• work with childcare providers to explore how they can create more free childcare places, offering business rate discounts as an
incentive for providers
• Raise awareness of the free childcare offer for two-, three- and four-year-olds available to families
• Raise awareness of the government tax-relief scheme for employers providing childcare for their staff via on-site childcare or
directly funding local providers, and consider further incentivising this scheme by providing some local business-rate discount to
employers who provide childcare for staff
• Promote awareness and take-up of government childcare support through tax-relief based schemes for families, through family
information services and working with children’s centres, Job Centre Plus, local services, community groups, and employers
THE LEP AND EMPLOYERS SHOULD:
• The LEP should confirm the proposed funding to improve maternal employment and work with partners to deliver employment
schemes and childcare facilities which meet the needs of families and business in London
• The LEP should work with the London business community on a sector by sector basis to foster family-friendly employment,
such as flexible and part-time jobs, childcare deposit loans, and employer provided childcare
• The LEP should raise awareness of the government’s tax relief scheme incentivising employers to offer childcare for staff
• Employers providing staff childcare should work with the GLA, the voluntary sector and local authorities to share their childcare
models as examples of good practice and encourage other organisations to develop their own provision
14. 14
Appendices
1
GLA Intelligence Unit (2012) 2011 Census Snapshot: Households and Families
2
ONS (2014) Annual Mid-Year Population Estimates: 2014
3
Gaffney, D. and Aldridge, H. (2015) Trends in parental employment in London. London: Child Poverty Action Groups and New
Policy Institute
4
Timewise (2015) Flexible Jobs Index.
5
Jarvie, M. (2014) Families on the brink: welfare reform in London. London: Child Poverty Action Group
6
CPAG (2015) What do parents want from the next Mayor of London?
7
Family and Childcare Trust analysis of Childcare and early years survey of parents 2012-13.
8
HMRC (2015) Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics Finalised annual awards 2013-14: Geographical analysis
9
Rutter, J. (2015) Childcare Costs Survey 2015. London: Family and Childcare Trust.
10
Jarvie, M. (2014) Families on the brink: welfare reform in London. London: Child Poverty Action Group
11
First earner working full-time. Both parents earning National Minimum Wage for 2016. First child age one, second child age
three (30 hours free early education included for three-year-old child and 10 per cent sibling discount applied). Universal
Credit rates set at 2015/16 level (for parents aged under 25), excluding work allowance which is set at £192. Housing element
estimated using Valuation Office Agency Housing Allowance data as of January 2015. Child Benefit is included in the calculation.
12
Family and Childcare Trust analysis of Childcare and early years survey of parents 2012-13. The survey data shows that 39.36 per
cent of families in London with children aged under 14 paid for childcare, spending on average £89 each week.
13
Huskinson, T., Kostadintcheva, K., Greevy, H., Salmon, C., Dobie, S., Medien, K. with Gilby, N., Littlewood, M., and D’Souza, J.
(2015) Childcare and early years survey of parents 2012-2013.
14
Lugton, D. and Rutter, J. (2014) Out of school, out of mind? London: Family and Childcare Trust
15
Ofsted (2015) Childcare providers and inspections; Ofsted (2010) Registered childcare providers and places
16
Child Poverty Action Group (2015) What do parents want from the next London Mayor?
17
Department for Education (2015) Provision for children under five years of age in England: January 2015
18
Ceeda (2014) Counting the cost: An analysis of delivery costs for funded early years education and childcare
19
In 2014/15, only 20 per cent of two year-olds were eligible for the free offer until September, when 40 per cent of children
became eligible: allocations for local authorities were also therefore lower to account for the lower cost of the offer during the
summer term.
20
Citizens Advice Bureau (2014) The practicalities of childcare: an overlooked part of the puzzle?
21
HMRC (2015) Estimated costs of the principal tax expenditure and structural reliefs
22
Department for Education (2016) Childcare free entitlement: delivery model
15. 15
Acknowledgements
4in10 would like to acknowledge Trust for London and City Bridge Trust
who funded this report. Thanks are also due to Megan Jarvie at CPAG who
provided the quotes from mothers in London from her research with focus
groups. We would also like to thank all our colleagues at Children England
and us2
design for the design of the report.
4in10 was set up after the last Child Poverty Commission in London to raise
awareness, collate, and share good practice to tackle the high levels of child
poverty in the capital. It is a network of over 300 voluntary and statutory
organisations across London.
www.4in10.org.uk @4in10
May 2016
16. 16
For more information please contact
Ade Sofola, 4in10 Strategic Manager ade.sofola@childrenengland.org.uk
0207 833 3319 www.4in10.org.uk
