Childcare costs soaring, official study shows Playgroups doubled their fees from £14 to £28 a week, average childminders" prices went up a third to £79 and the amount families spent on babysitters every week was up by 86 per cent to £39. The report gives only the median figures paid by families but separate research has exposed huge variations in costs between different parts of the country. Poorer families were hit hardest by the rising cost of childcare and overall a quarter of those surveyed described it as "difficult" or "very difficult" to meet the costs. Earlier this week a study by Mumsnet and the Daycare Trust showed that for up to four out 10 families nursery bills are overtaking even the mortgage as their biggest monthly expenditure. Anand Shukla, chief executive of the Daycare Trust, said the Government figures echoed the trusts's own findings. "UK parents pay some of the highest prices for childcare in the world," he said. Our research shows that childcare providers are being hit hard by rising rents, utility bills and staff costs, forcing them to increase their prices. Simultaneously, they are being hit hard by the impact of the recession, with increasing numbers of parents reducing the amount of childcare that they use, and many struggling to pay their bills. Childcare providers in London have told Daycare Trust for the last two years that the biggest threat to their business sustainability is parents not being able to pay for childcare. It is therefore no surprise that parents are struggling with the rising cost of childcare. The Government research also highlighted how many parents in part-time or short-term jobs are being forced to cut back on their own work because of the difficulty of caring for their children during the school holidays. Three out of 10 found it difficult to find childcare that they could afford during the holidays. Meanwhile one in five reported having problems finding holiday childcare that was flexible enough to meet their needs. "Lack of flexibility and the affordability of available holiday provision caused more difficulties for lone parents than couple parents," the report adds. A substantial minority of parents also indicated that the availability and affordability of holiday childcare impacted on their capacity to work more hours.