Stormont stalemate ‘holding back help with childcare costs’

The ongoing political stalemate at Stormont is holding back measures to address the cost of childcare, the Alliance Party has said.

Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle was speaking after a survey found the average childcare bill is more than a third of the average wage.

The charity behind the survey is now calling for the introduction of a scheme already in place in other parts of the UK that offers up to 30 hours of free childcare.

The survey, by Employers for Childcare, also found that more than a third of families spend more on childcare than any other expense, including rent, mortgages and food.

The average full-time salary is estimated by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency as £27,006.

The average cost of full-time childcare, according to the Employers for Childcare survey, is £8,632 per year – £166 per week.

Mr Lyttle believes action could be taken if there were a devolved administration up and running at Stormont.

“There is a childcare strategy awaiting ministerial sign-off, but due to the collapse of power-sharing, it is simply gathering dust instead of helping those who need it,” he said.

“Those parties blocking the restoration of the Assembly are hampering early childhood development and need to ask themselves if they see anything as more important than the care of our children and helping give quality childcare provision which is accessible and affordable for all.”

The Lurgan-based charity Employers for Childcare polled 1,872 parents between May and July last year.

More than half said they had to cut back on “groceries, clothes, heating and home repairs” in order to pay childcare bills, while more than a third said they had dipped into savings or taken out loans from friends, family, credit card companies or payday loan companies to meet the cost.

The charity also found that it’s still predominately mothers who report reducing their hours or leaving the workforce to raise their children.

Employers for Childcare policy manager Aoife Hamilton said: “Introducing policies such as the ‘30-hours free childcare’ would go a long way to alleviating some of the hardship or difficulties experienced by local families.”