Mothers across the West Midlands are having to give up work because of the cost of child care
A new report by Pregnant Then Screwed found that 76% of mothers who pay for childcare, say it no longer makes financial sense for them to work
Last updated 2nd Mar 2023
A new report into the childcare crisis from Pregnant Then Screwed has revealed that a staggering 3 in 4 mothers (76%) who pay for childcare, say it no longer makes financial sense for them to work.
Whilst more than half of parents who use formal or informal childcare say they have had to reduce the number of hours they work due to childcare cost or availability.
A mother from Tamworth, Charlie Cassarando, put her career aspirations of becoming a barrister on hold because of childcare costs.
She has now decided to return to University in Summer but said she will be put under a lot of financial stress: "I've just got to do it now because it's becoming a drawback to being qualified. It's going to get worse, it's going to be tough, but it's got to the point where it has to be done."
"It's put a massive stress onto me and to my partner because he is financial responsible for everything but childcare costs. Just knowing we've managed to scape by to the end of the month, but I still won't have any money to add to the household bills, it is stressful."
Joeli Brearley, founder and CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “This is our ultimate cry for help. Parents are at the end of their tether. Many have now left the labour market, or work fewer hours, because our childcare system has been abandoned by this Government.
"We don’t just have a cost of living crisis in the UK, we have a cost of working crisis with 1 in 10 mothers now paying to go to work; and that’s if they can even secure a childcare place - we’ve lost thousands of providers in the last year because they simply cannot afford to remain open.’
"Rather than focussing on ‘getting people off the golf course’ why not invest in the vital infrastructure parents need to be able to work.
"It’s important to remember that this isn’t just a parenting issue, this is an issue for the whole of society - we are hemorrhaging talented, skilled women from our healthcare sector, from teaching and other vital public services because of our unaffordable, dysfunctional, inaccessible childcare system.
"The question isn’t whether we can afford to invest in childcare, it is whether we can afford not to. Unless we want to lock parents out of the labour market entirely then we need investment and we need it now,’’ she said.
Women with young children feel let down by the Government; 98% of women using childcare think that the Government is not doing enough to support them. The data shows that 88% of families with a child under 16 and 96% of families with a child under 3 are likely to vote for the political party with the best childcare pledge at the next election.