To not understand why childcare is so expensive in Surrey

[Reallytired]

My SIL lives in Surrey and apparently it costs £65 a day to put a four year old with a childminder. (This includes the governant grant.)

Yet I am paying £40 a to have a baby in nursery (no nursery vouchers). I live about 40 miles from my SIL.

Why the difference? Or should my SIL look for alternative childcare? It just seems to be truely outrageous as the childminder has no formal childcare qualifications.

demand and supply innit.

When I lived in South London, there were several good nurseries in the immediate area, so the prices were not too bad considering the area was quite affluent (£40-50 per day).

We now live in the north-west (not the Cheshire jags 'n' Bolly bit!), and there is a lack of good quality childcare in this particular bit, meaning the sought-after nursery charges £42 per day - same as our old bit of London.

Round here (just s of M25) Surestart and childminders charge between £5 and £6 ph, private nurseries are £6 up

thats odd, I live West London suburbs and Nursery is £45-60 and CM are £5ph

she needs to shop around

Or not, if she is happy with it presumeably.

I'm in south surrey. very expensive. £60 a day for nursery.

I'm a first time mom who recently came back to work and found for the first time in my life that childcare (for 1 child) in this country is worth more than half an average person's wage.

I don't know anywhere on earth that childcare providers could have this rate. However I know an underlying reason, which is the lack of labour in the country and the growing aging population. Look at how many old people are being cared for, and how many people in working age. Children compete with older people for care, while the workforce is struggling to meet these moral responsibilities.

It's a vicious circle, the higher childcare costs, the less likely people are having children, the greater the proportion of older people who needs care, the smaller the working population, and the more childcare will cost.

Nothing seems to be able to break this vicious circle.