Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Parents' Demand for Childcare surveys study the demand for childcare among parents of children aged 14 years and under. As such, they form part of the ongoing evaluation of the Government's National Childcare Strategy. The first survey was conducted in 1999, and formed a baseline survey for comparison with the second wave, which was conducted in 2001. A further wave is planned for 2004. Users should note that whereas the 1999 survey was conducted in England and Wales, the 2001 survey was restricted to England. The survey series was designed to investigate the use of childcare by parents and to explore the factors that influence their decision to use childcare and how these relate to their participation in the labour market. Specifically, the aims of the research are as follows:to establish the level of usage and take-up of childcare by parents with children aged 0-14to discover what influences a parent's decision to use childcareto assess the financial cost of paid-for childcareto assess parents' satisfaction with current childcare arrangementsto establish parents' unmet demand for childcareto identify parents' ideal childcare provisionto assess parents' knowledge of the availability of childcare in their local areato ascertain the extent to which their current childcare arrangements enable parents to take up paid work, education and training and what activities are associated with the use of childcare.
Because of policy interest in a number of sub-groups of parents, for the 2001 survey it was deemed necessary to over-sample certain sub-populations. An additional sample of households was selected from the Child Benefit records, and were included in the survey if they fell into one of three groups: student parents; parents whose children used out-of-school clubs; parents who received the childcare tax credit.
Main Topics:
The data files include child, household and provider-level information on usage and perceptions of childcare. Demographic information such as ethnicity, household income, employment status and number of dependent children is also present.
Multi-stage stratified random sample
The sample was drawn from the Department for Work and Pensions' Child Benefit records. It comprised a National and an additional Booster sample. For further details please see Abstract section above and the documentation.
Face-to-face interview
