To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of rising childcare costs.

Childcare fees in Northern Ireland are set by individual providers, most of whom operate as private businesses. As a result, there is a wide variation in fees across the market, reflecting differences in provision, location and operating costs.

Analysis of the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) data shows that childcare fees have increased by approximately 12% on average, between September 2024 and April 2025. This analysis is based on daycare settings, which represent 83% of the total subsidy payments made since April 2025.

This increase was not unexpected given that providers increase their fees annually, however, wider inflationary and wage pressures across the childcare sector from April 2025 are likely to also have had an impact. In anticipation of these fee increases I increased the NICSS monthly subsidy cap for the scheme by 10% in April 2025 and raised the administrative payments to providers.

While increases in fees are determined by individual childcare providers, the net cost paid by parents will vary depending on their individual circumstances and eligibility to existing financial support schemes, such as Universal Credit, Tax Free Childcare and the NICSS. However, I acknowledge that childcare costs for some families remain unacceptably high and that is why the draft Early Learning and Childcare Strategy, currently issued for public consultation, sets out further proposals to improve affordability for working parents while supporting a sustainable childcare sector.

Through the NICSS, my Department will continue to monitor the costs of childcare to inform policy decisions going forward.