CHILDCARE is a luxury only well-off families can comfort-ably afford, meaning work is an unrealistic option for poorer parents, a charity claims.

The prohibitive cost of childcare means less well-paid parents are often no better off going to work than if they stay at home, according to a survey of over 150 parents by Save The Children.

The charity has compiled 10 key issues they want addressed in the Children and Young People Bill which is going through Holyrood.

They include a focus on development, addr-essing the high cost and variable availability of childcare, helping parents back to work or education, help with the work and childcare balance, and more flexible childcare and employment.

The charity said: "The prohibitive cost of child-care is the key issue. Parents find that child-care is so expensive it's becoming a luxury only families earning a very good wage can comfortably afford."