GOOD quality childcare is essential everywhere and crucial for closing the gender pay gap, the TUC said today, after new data found that poorer areas have less access to services.

According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics, affluent cities like St Albans and Cambridge had the highest levels of childcare access, with up to 43 registered childcare places per 100 children.

Nine out of 10 local authority areas with the most places had a higher-than-average gross disposable household income (GDHI).