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Cost of childcare prevents unemployed parents from working

A survey of parents has revealed that over a fifth who are unemployed want to work but can't because childcare is 'prohibitively expensive'.



More than 1,000 parents with an annual household income of under £30,000 were surveyed by the charities Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Working Families.

More than a fifth (21 per cent) of those who took part in the survey and were unemployed said they wanted to work but found childcare 'prohibitively expensive', while 16 per cent said they could not find childcare for the hours they needed. 

Over two-fifths of part-time workers who responded said they wanted to work more hours, and 71 per cent wanted permanent jobs, but felt they were prevented from doing so by a lack of affordable childcare, inadequate pay and poor opportunities for progression.

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