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"Two in five" parents say barriers to accessing childcare prevent them working extra hours

10 November 2014

National charity Citizens Advice has welcomed calls from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) to give working families more financial help with the cost of childcare. The charity's Chief Executive has called on the Government to adopt recommendations from its citizens’ manifesto to increase support for parents to meet the cost of raising a family. The CBI's Director General John Cridland says today that reducing National Insurance contributions and increasing childcare support can “ease the pressure” on low income households.

Citizens Advice Chief Executive, Gillian Guy, said:

"The cost of childcare can quickly wipe out financial gains from work. Two in five Citizens Advice clients who are parents say that accessing childcare is a barrier to them taking more hours of work. Huge changes in the labour market, with more people self-employed or working unpredictable hours, make flexible and affordable childcare even more crucial in helping people to balance work and parenthood.

"The Government has made positive progress on helping parents with the costs of childcare, but can do more for low-income families. To help parents make every hour of work pay, ministers should adopt our recommendations to extend Free School Meals and give every household receiving Universal Credit 90 per cent of their childcare costs."


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Notes to editors:

  1. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.
  2. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
  3. To find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit citizensadvice.org.uk. You can also get advice online at adviceguide.org.uk
  4. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers
  5. Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.3 million clients on 5.4 million problems from October 2013 to September 2014. For full 2013/2014  service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends
  6. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 3,000 service outlets across England and Wales.