This report by Family and Childcare Trust provides the most detailed study to date on childcare in the capital.
2014 London Childcare Report shows:
- Just 63.3% of mothers with dependent children were employed in London in 2013, compared with 72.9% in the rest of the UK.
- Childcare for the under-fives is 28% more expensive than the British average.
- There are also major gaps in provision for all types of childcare, but they are particularly acute for those who work outside normal office hours or irregularly.
Nearly a quarter of children in London live in poverty and this report argues that provision of affordable and flexible childcare is one of the most effective ways of reducing child poverty, as it enables parents to work or to extend their hours of work and move out of poverty.
The report was funded by Trust for London.
18 September 2014