PARENTS still face a "postcode lottery" in finding affordable and appropriate holiday childcare, according to a survey. What are your experiences of finding affordable childcare?

With the long summer holidays looming, the Daycare Trust said there were huge variations in the provision and cost this year of holiday childcare in Britain.

The campaigning group said the costs of a full-time holiday childcare place ranged from £62.70 for local authority schemes in inner London to £113.72 a week for private, voluntary and independent schemes in outer London.

The trust said the findings were based on research data gathered from Family Information Services (FIS) in England and Wales and Childcare Information Services in Scotland.

The research showed local authority-run provision is almost always cheaper than private and voluntary provision. But the level of local authority subsidy varied "wildly" between local authorities and regions.

Only one third of English Families Information Services said there was enough holiday childcare for all children. There were "particular" gaps in provision for disabled children and children aged 12 and over in England, Scotland and Wales, the survey found.

A "significant majority", or 75%, of FIS in Wales said that parents had reported a lack of holiday childcare, with the corresponding figures in England and Scotland standing at 48% and 38% respectively, the survey found.

Daycare Trust joint chief executive Alison Garnham said: "Affordable and high quality holiday childcare is crucial for parents especially in the current recession. Parents must not have to choose between giving up work or leaving their children unsupervised because they cannot find or afford holiday childcare.

"But holiday childcare should not just be about providing a babysitting service for hard pressed parents. High quality holiday childcare can provide children with a stimulating, entertaining and education experience during school holidays, helping them to make new friends, stay fit and healthy and maybe learn something at the same time."

Children's Minister Dawn Primarolo said: "I welcome this important contribution from the Daycare Trust and am pleased to see a decrease in costs across most of the country and the modest increase in the availability of childcare. During an economic downturn, this is particularly good news. I do, however, recognise that the overall picture is patchy and that more work is needed if we are to make accessible, appropriate and affordable provision available right across the country."

What do you think? Have you had any problems finding childcare for your kids? Have you found childcare to be too expensive? Should more help be given to working parents? Add your comments below.