What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The cost of childcare has soared by up to 47% since 2010, shock figures compiled by Labour reveal.

Analysis shows nursery care now costs £121 a week for a two-year-old in England - up from £82 eight years ago.

Yet weekly wages have risen by only 17% in the same period, from £439 in January 2010 to £512 in December 2017.

Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner said: "The cost of childcare has skyrocketed under this Tory Government, showing that they are failing to deliver affordable, sustainable childcare for families across the country.

"At the same time wages have stagnated and risen at half the rate of childcare costs, making it harder for working families to make ends meet.”

Labour, which compiled the figures based on annual reports by the Family and Childcare Trust, said there had been rises of between 32% and 47% since 2010.

(Image: PA)

In England, 25 hours of nursery for children aged two and over cost £82 a week in 2010, according to the Trust.

By 2018 that had risen to £120.66 for children aged two, a rise of 47%.

Meanwhile 25 hours of nursery for under-twos has risen 42% from £88 to £124.73.

The cost of a childminder rose 33% from £83 to £110.61 for under-twos, and 32% from £83 to £109.95 for those aged two or two and above.

Bills have risen the fastest in the North East, where the price of nursery for a child under two has shot up 63% from £75 to £122.30 since 2010.

In London a nursery place for a child under two costs £164.50, a rise of 51% since 2010.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

The slowest rise is in Yorkshire and the Humber, where nursery for a child under two costs £105.30 - a rise of 25%.

The government provides 30 hours a week of free childcare for children aged three and four whose parents are in work as part of a flagship Tory scheme.

But children aged two only receive free care if their parents receive certain low-income benefits. Labour has pledged to extend free childcare to all two-year-olds.

Meanwhile the government is accused of handing nurseries too little cash for the scheme - forcing them to hike prices elsewhere.

Last week the Commons Treasury Committee said parents have been asked to pay for food and activities that were previously free to plug a £157m shortfall in 2017/18.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance which represents nurseries, said the rise in costs was "no surprise" and blamed Tory policies.

He said: "For far too long, the government has failed to fund its so-called ‘free entitlement’ schemes adequately.

"As a result, many childcare providers have had no choice but to increase their prices to try and plug this shortfall.

"This has particularly impacted on parents of younger children who normally aren’t eligible for any government-funded schemes. With the introduction of the 30-hour scheme, this trend is likely to get even worse."

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "Our childcare offer saves eligible working families around £5,000 per child, per year.

"We are spending more on childcare than any other government – £6 billion a year by 2020. This includes an additional £1bn a year to deliver the 30 hours commitment and to increase the funding rates for local authorities to pass on to childcare providers."