ABSTRACT
Parents in the UK spent an estimated £2.6 billion on nursery services in 2005, paying average full-time fees of £135.50 per week, which equates to approximately 77 per cent of the actual cost of the service. Employers funded 12.5 per cent of costs through workplace nurseries and Childcare Vouchers* (£420 million). Direct government subsidy through the Nursery Education Grant* for three and four year olds amounted to £260 million, and indirect subsidies through Working Families Tax Credit* have been valued at £325 million. The balance would appear to be in the widening tax reliefs, suggesting that the total government contribution amounts to just over 20 per cent (Laing and Buisson, March 2006).
