Cuts in the childcare budget led to six times as many bankruptcies of childcare centres last year compared with 2011, the Algemeen Dagblad reports, using figures from the Chamber of Commerce.

In 2011, 12 pre and after-school daycare centres went bankrupt. Last year the figure reached 73. In addition, 400 of the 2,200 centres are in financial difficulty.
The bankruptcies are mainly the result of government cuts, but a further factor is that parents are removing their children from the centres altogether or leaving them on fewer occasions because of the uncertain economic situation, says the AD.
The government is planning a further cut of €205m from the childcare budget this year, but employers, unions and parents’ organisations say this should not go ahead.
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