Nursery World - Interview: Vidhya Alakeson, Research and strategy director at the Resolution Foundation

Presented evidence to the London Assembly Health and Public Services Committee on the challenges facing parents on finding and affording childcare in the capital

- What barriers do parents face accessing childcare in London?

Affordability is a bigger problem in London than anywhere else in the country. Our analysis of the DfE's annual childcare and providers survey shows that more parents in London are struggling.

For most families it is a constant juggling act between formal and informal care. But it is interesting that in London more families rely on paid-for childcare, which could be because a lot of people in the capital are more distant from their extended family and so depend on formal care.

Flexibility of childcare is also an issue for parents, in particular those who work atypical hours, but the problem is that providers don't know the demand for out-of-hours care. Most parents who work shifts also presume there isn't care to meet their needs, so they don't look.

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