Nursery World - Parents' debts hit providers' pockets

Childcare providers are increasingly being left with bad debts and sustainability problems because many parents are facing 'an affordability gap' and cannot pay the fees in spite of receiving tax credits. Rosemary Murphy, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said that the Government's 70 per cent maximum limit for help with childcare costs, reduced funding for the second child and none for the third, left the poorest parents 'with a significant amount of money to find each week'.

Rosemary Murphy, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said that the Government's 70 per cent maximum limit for help with childcare costs, reduced funding for the second child and none for the third, left the poorest parents 'with a significant amount of money to find each week'.

She warned, 'There is a clear knock-on effect for childcare providers.

Parents take their children out of nursery because they reach a crisis point, leaving the provider with bad debt and sustainability problems.

'We urge the Government to build on the initial success of tax credits by raising their value to low-income families, particularly with more than one child.'

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