I take my son to the local council nursery 5 days per week, but have just found out that they are proposing a 55% increase in childcare charges (and relative meal charges) as of 1 April 2005!!! This gives parents just 6 weeks to pluck out of thin air an additional £200 approx per month out of salaries which, working in Wales, are under the national average anyway! I would be interested in stories of similar price hikes from any other parents whose childcare facilities are so-called 'subsidised' by government funded organisations to promote and sustain family friendly workplaces! .