PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Children: Day Care (21 July 2022)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an estimate of the average proportion of household income that families spent on childcare in each region of the UK in the latest period for which data is available.

Asked by:
Alison McGovern (Labour)

The department does not hold the average proportion of household income that families spent on childcare in each region of the UK and, therefore, cannot provide an estimate for this question.

The 2022 Coram Family and Childcare Survey outlines the average prices of childcare in Great Britain and does contain a regional breakdown. This information is available here: https://www.coram.org.uk/sites/default/files/resource_files/Coram%20Childcare%20Survey%20-%202022.pdf

The 2019 childcare and early years survey of parents provided some details around the average weekly costs of childcare in each region. This information is available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2019.

The table below splits out the mean and median family-level weekly payment for childcare by region. These payments are for families with a child aged 0 to 4, who paid a childcare provider (or providers) in a specific week for their children aged 0 to 14.

Region	Median (£)	Mean (£)	Standard Error	Unweighted base
North East	31.00	53.18	4.78	102
North West	40.00	68.87	6.10	333
Yorkshire and the Humber	44.10	69.47	5.74	297
East Midlands	61.58	84.99	8.08	212
West Midlands	43.46	68.92	7.07	300
East of England	42.54	74.56	6.79	260
London	91.97	135.51	13.89	233
South East	45.00	80.58	6.07	361
South West	44.00	60.12	4.05	246

The survey also showed that the overall median weekly amount paid by families to childcare providers (including both formal and informal providers) was £45.00.

Answered by:
Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative)
5 September 2022