The Government is rolling out three significant new childcare support measures, meaning there are now a wide range of opportunities available to parents and their children.
The new policies include:
- 30 hours of free childcare for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds
- Up to 85% support for childcare costs up to 16 years of age for parents on low incomes
- Tax free childcare costs for parents on higher incomes
By helping parents with the cost of childcare we can help people into work, support families with the cost of living and ensure an opportunity for a high quality of education for every child.
The Government has done much to help parents with the cost of childcare, spending more than ever before: by 2020 it will be a record £6bn a year.
I would urge people in Fareham to visit the Childcare Choices website, which brings together information for parents about all the available offers for them.
Parents can access the Childcare Choices website through the following link: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
More detail:
Working parents of 3 and 4 year olds now receive 30 hours of free childcare a week, building on the early education entitlements for households where both parents (or the lone parent) of 3 and 4 year olds are in work, by providing an additional 15 hours a week from September 2017, saving them in total around £5,000 a year per child.
This policy has been extremely popular, with over 200,000 children benefiting from a 30 hours place in the autumn term just gone. Independent evaluation from areas which offered 30 hours early indicates that this policy is making a real difference to families and has had a notable impact on employment in its early stages: it showed that nearly a quarter (23%) of mothers and one in 10 (9%) of fathers reported they had been able to increase their working hours.
Parents claiming Universal Credit (UC) are also supported with up to 85% of their childcare costs for children under 16: this compares generously with Tax Credits, which provide 70%, and such support is estimated to benefit close to half a million households once UC is fully rolled out – 100,000 more households than Tax Credits. UC childcare support can be worth over £13,000 a year to a family of two or more children. It is tailored to individuals’ needs, and can be claimed for the month before and after a period of employment, to support children’s settling and transition, providing better support for families.
Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) provides up to £2,000 of support for childcare costs for children under 12 (or under 17 and up to a higher maximum of £4000 for those with disabilities); is paid per child; and, crucially, is available to self-employed parents who cannot access existing voucher schemes, as well as to employed parents (earnings eligibility criteria apply). TFC rollout will complete on 14 February, with all 1.5 million eligible families across the UK with childcare costs able to apply. It is fairer than the voucher scheme it replaces because it does not depend on employers offering the scheme; pays per hour of childcare so parents who work longer are not disadvantaged; pays per child so single parents are not disadvantaged; and is open to 900,000 more families than are on vouchers including – for the first time – the self-employed.