The costs of childcare are continuing to rise across the UK, surveys show

This followed a warning many women could not return to work because of a lack of affordable childcare.

Unemployed parents in Haringey and Lewisham, in London, and Bradford, in Yorkshire, will get a week's free childcare to help them back into work.

Mr Smith was speaking at a Trades Union Congress and Daycare Trust conference.

"Estimates show that there are still around half a million lone parents who want to work but are held back by key obstacles like lack of affordable childcare or a lack of confidence in the skills they have to offer an employer," he said.

"I cannot stress enough how crucially important it is that we continue to make progress - to help more lone parents help themselves and their children to have a better quality of life."

Some 1,200 families are expected to benefit over the next two years and the scheme could be extended nationwide if they prove successful, said the Department of Work and Pensions.

Struggling to cope

Research for the Economic and Social Research Council, published on Monday, highlights the struggle many women have combining work and raising young children.

It concludes that very few women who have a second child manage to stay in full-time work.

Only 17% of women interviewed were still in full-time work by the time their first child had celebrated its third birthday, according to the research.

Most of the women who were working full-time had only one child, while 72% of women not in paid work had two children.

Soaring costs

Single mothers are expected to be the main beneficiaries of the government's proposal, and the pilot areas were chosen because of the high proportion of lone parents.

The DWP estimates about 500,000 jobless lone parents across the country would like to find work.

Key figures Typical cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under two is �134 a week, almost �7,000 a year Typical cost of a full-time place with a childminder for a child under two is �120 a week Typical cost of an after school club is �34 for 15 hours a week

The pilot project comes after a survey by the TUC and the Daycare Trust indicated childcare costs had risen above the rate of inflation for the third year in a row.

A typical nursery place for a child under two during 2004 is �134 a week - up from �128 a week in 2003 - a rise of nearly 5%, the trust said.

Parents in the South East pay more, with a typical nursery place in inner London now costing �168 a week.

Daycare Trust director Stephen Burke said: "Parents in Britain already pay the highest childcare bills in Europe. They tell us they cannot afford to pay any more."