The council is planning to restrict subsidised holiday and after-school club places only to vulnerable children or those who have special educational needs.
Under the proposals, the cost of out-of-school provision for parents of all other children would increase from £22 to £120 a week for holiday play schemes - an increase of 545 per cent - and from £8.30 to £30 per week for after-school provision - a rise of 360 per cent.
The proposals to cut subsidised out-ofschool provision come just weeks after the Conservative-led council was accused of making massive cuts to services for vulnerable children.
Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, leader of Westminster's Labour group, said, 'These increases in children's play charges have broken all the records. Nowhere in Britain has a council dared to increase charges by over 500 per cent. This is a first for Westminster, for which the Conservatives should be truly ashamed.'
But Councillor Nickie Aiken, the cabinet member for children and young people, said, 'For many years Westminster has, in contrast to other councils, heavily subsidised its play services. To put this into context, Westminster has traditionally charged parents, whatever their economic circumstances, just £21 a week for childcare during the school holidays, including free trips. In the current financial climate this is clearly not sustainable, nor is it a sensible use of taxpayers' money.
'Those who suggest we can continue with the same old ways without making any changes to how we deliver services simply do not understand the scale of the challenges local authorities are currently facing. It is important to stress that no final decisions have been made yet on fee levels and we are now working to channel the money we have to priority areas.'
A decision is to be made after the consultation closes on 31 October.
