Day-care centres faced with rising costs

Day-care centres in Belgium that receive no subsidies from the government are increasingly being forced to raise their prices, writes Het Laatste Nieuws. "If we want to earn as much as our subsidised colleagues, we have to charge parents up to €60 euro per child per day," according to the private day-care centres.

The Flemish government subsidises 49,000 places in day-care centres and in-home caretakers, covering between €30 to €50 per child per day. Parents then pay an amount based on their income - an average of €12 to €13 euros per child per day. But 20,000 other centres fall by the wayside, because there is not enough money to go around.

Day-care centres without government funding must make do with the amount paid by the parents. In order to match the earnings of their subsidised counterparts, these private centres have to charge as much as €60 per child per day, or risk permanent closure.