Parents spend third of wages on nursery, says study

Parents with young children spend more than one-third of the average salary on nursery school, according to research.

A full-time nursery place in central London typically costs £205 a week, while the average cost for a child minder is £400 a week, or £20,000 a year.

Nationally, parents in England pay an average £152 a week for a full-time nursery place for a child under two, a rise of almost 6 per cent since 2005, according to The Daycare Trust. In Wales, the average cost for a nursery place is £131.

Parents in the UK pay about 70 per cent of the cost of childcare. European parents pay about 30 per cent with the majority subsidised, the charity said.

Alison Garnham, joint chief executive of the Daycare Trust, said parents cannot afford rising childcare costs alone. "Despite significant government investment in early years and childcare, funding childcare needs to be improved so all children have access to high quality, affordable and accessible childcare," she said.

The trust surveyed 122 out of 172 Children's Information Services in England and Wales.