The rise in employers' national insurance will force most nurseries to increase their fees by 10%, a new survey has revealed.
A survey of nurseries in England by National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) found that nursery staffing costs will rise by an average of 15% in April.
The nearly 730 nurseries that responded to the survey said that more than half of the rise is due to National Insurance Contribution (NIC) increases.
Nearly all of these nurseries (96%) plan to increase fees by an average of 10%, while one in seven are at risk, according to the survey results.
Purnima Tanuku CBE, NDNA’s chief executive, said: ‘The alarming results of this survey come just months before the biggest phase of the Government’s funded childcare expansion, putting this policy at risk.
‘Nurseries do not want to be in this awful situation where they are forced to either significantly increase their fees to parents or face an uncertain future, with 14% of nurseries saying their business is at risk.’
