A NEW survey from Save the Children shows soaring cost of childcare is pushing the poorest out of work and children into poverty.

Families on low incomes across Northern Ireland the UK are having to turn down jobs or are considering leaving work because they can’t afford to pay for childcare, according to new research from Save the Children and Daycare Trust. The survey also found that many parents say that they cannot afford not to work, but also struggle to pay for childcare. Despite many parents cutting back their spending almost a quarter have got into debt because of childcare costs. South Down SDLP MP Margaret Ritchie had backed the campaign by save the Children and added that she has already written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to address the high cost of childcare to help allow more parents into work. She said, “A report has been launched by Save the Children and the Daycare Trust that shows most parents are struggling with childcare costs, and that 41% of parents put childcare costs on a par with their mortgage or rent. [caption id="attachment_16288" align="alignleft" width="221" caption="South Down MP Margaret Ritchie has backed the campaign to help parents get to work as childcare costs rise. "][/caption] “It is unacceptable that many parents are placed in the situation that they cannot afford to work, which means that they are being trapped in poverty through no fault of their own. “The coalition Government is overhauling welfare reform so that work is guaranteed to pay more than benefits. Its first action should be to ensure there is sufficient investment in support for childcare costs so that parents are not priced out of work. “It is therefore vital for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to prioritise support for childcare costs, otherwise many families will remain trapped in poverty, which is an untenable situation.” A local mother said speaking to Down News said, “Affordable childcare is so hard to come by.  There would be no point in me working if I had to pay for private nursery or a child minder. There is not enough help for working parents.” Another said, “I have about 100 pounds left for my own expenses after paying bills, that doesn’t cover even our monthly food bill. It is just so hard to get by nowadays.” While parents in Britain spend almost a third of their incomes on childcare, here in Northern Ireland the average spend is 45%. The survey findings suggest that parents living in severe poverty are struggling more than most to access childcare, particularly due to the high cost. The UK Government’s aim is to persuade more parents that work is the best route out of poverty. Effective childcare support is therefore essential to make work pay. However, the 10% reduction of the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit which came into effect in April 2011 and the proposals for Universal Credit are undermining this worthy aim.  The cut has added up to £1,560 per year on to the childcare bill of low income families. Save the Children and others are calling on the UK Government to increase the amount they plan to spend on childcare support under the new universal credit in a bid to prevent low income families from being priced out of work and into poverty. It is calling on people to ask their MP to call on the Chancellor to give childcare support a boost at www.savethechildren.org.uk/childcare [caption id="attachment_27832" align="alignright" width="216" caption="MP's have been lobbied by Save the Children to take action over the rising cost of child care. (Photography by Neil Harrison.)"][/caption] Fergus Cooper, Save the Children’s Head of Country in Northern Ireland, said, “Child poverty in Northern Ireland is once again on the increase. In 2009/10 it fell by at least 1% in Britain whereas it rose 2% here to 26%.Furthermore, more than 1 in every 5 children is growing up in a family that has been in poverty for three or more years and a shocking 1 in 10 children are living in severe poverty. “From our own research we know that of those families living in severe poverty, 36% have one member of the household in employment. Yet these are the same families who are struggling most to access affordable childcare, the very families the Chancellor wants to see working and off benefits.” Fergus also called on the Northern Ireland Executive to do more to increase childcare provision locally. He said, “Save the Children wants to see a new childcare strategy with appropriate levels of funding in the new Programme for Government.  This needs to work across departments to tackle historical under provision and needs to be especially targeted and resourced to support families living in poverty to access training and employment and should be accessible across Northern Ireland.” Save the Children is calling on the NI Executive to: *  Make the provision of childcare a priority in the child poverty delivery plan and Programme for Government. *  Develop childcare legislation and a strategy and delivery plan to ensure an integrated approach to early years education and childcare. *  Improve childcare support within education and training programmes for low income mothers. *  Prioritise a campaign to improve the uptake of the childcare element of Working Child Credit. Table demonstrating international comparisons on childcare spending:

	Denmark	France	New Zealand	Sweden	UK
% of average wages spent on fees for a two year-old in early-years care and education (gross costs)	8	25	20	5	25
% of family net income spent on childcare for dual earner family with full-time earnings 167% if average ages (net costs)	8	11	28	6	33
% of family net income spent on childcare for sole-parent family with full-time earnings 67% of average wage (net costs)	8	9	14	5	14

(Source: OECD Family Database. PF12: Childcare Support) For further information please visit www.savethechildren.org.uk]]>