Saving for children must become a key element of every family’s financial plan, following the publication of new findings by the Family and Parenting Institute (FPI).
Raising a child in the UK now costs £800 per month, much of which is accounted for by the rising cost of childcare for working parents, said the FPI. Nursery places can now cost from £30 to £80 per day - but even harder hit are the parents who cannot afford this, and must cut working hours, and lose income, to mind their children at home.
The news comes as families absorb government cuts in the June 2010 budget, which froze child benefit for the next 3 years, reduced the scope of the family tax credits scheme, and limited the Sure Start maternity grant to the first child only.
The June 2010 budget also announced the abolition of the Child Trust Fund scheme, which had proved a key incentive for children’s investments for all young families, and will now close at the end of the year.
The importance of saving for children was underlined recently by a report projecting the cost of a 3-year education at a regional (non-London) university or college in 15-18 years’ time. Based on costings from the National Union of Students, this will cost between £57k-£65k, compared with £42,000 today.
