THE average family in Scotland is having to find £111 just to keep their child part-time in nursery after fees rose by double the level of inflation, a charity has claimed.
Childcare prices in Scotland have risen by 4.5 per cent in the last year, according to new research by the Family and Childcare Trust.
The charity said that Scottish parents pay the average of £111 per week for a part time nursery place for a child under two, or the equivalent of £5,800 per year.
The Scottish Childminding Association, however, said in its separate survey it found the hourly rate has remained unchanged over 2015-16.
The Family and Childcare Trust said costs in Scotland are about £5 per week lower than the British average but is claimed Scottish parents are faced by shortages in childcare.
Only one in four councils in Scotland were confident that there was enough childcare in their area for every parent that worked full time, the trust said.
The gaps are even bigger for parents who do not work regular office hours, where only one in nine councils said that there was enough care available.
Ellen Broomé, deputy chief executive at the Family and Childcare Trust said: “It is a disgrace that so many parents are shut out of the workplace by crippling childcare costs.
"The Scottish Government is rightfully investing in childcare, but too many parents are still struggling to find and pay for childcare that they and their children need.
“Childcare is as vital as the rails and roads for helping a country to run: it boosts children’s outcomes throughout life and helps parents work.
"We need a strategy to make sure that every parent is better off working after they have paid for childcare.”
The Scottish Childminding Association said that average hourly rate charged by a childminder in Scotland is £4.08 per hour, according to its recent SCMA Pay and Conditions Survey, which is the same amount recorded in the 2015 survey.
The SCMA said: "The rising cost of childcare is something we know affects families and is always a headline in the media.
"However, this result shows that childminders not only provide a quality, flexible childcare service – but they are also an affordable option for parents."
Jackie Brock, chief executive of Children in Scotland, said: "Our challenge in Scotland is to create a childcare system that is high quality, flexible and also affordable for every child and their family.
"We will require services in every community that are adequately resourced to be able to meet each individual child’s development, care and learning needs and flexible enough in terms of the hours they offer to cater for families’ different work and study patterns.
"There is of course a cost attached to this."
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