Nottingham families could be missing out on thousands of pounds worth of help towards the cost of summer holiday childcare. The Government is now urging parents and carers to take advantage of the financial assistance.
As the long summer break for schools looms many parents will be scrambling about to organise - and pay for- childcare. More than 30,915 families in the East Midlands used Tax-Free Childcare in March 2022. However, despite this being the highest figure using the scheme since it was launched in April 2017, even more could be missing out.
Helen Whately, HM Treasury’s Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Tax-Free Childcare helps families with the cost of childcare bills but we know that thousands of parents could be missing out. That is why I'm encouraging families to sign up now and save on childcare costs."
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Research published earlier this year by HMRC estimated that about 1.3 million families could be eligible for this government support. Ms Whately added: "There are lots of fantastic holiday clubs and childcare providers to help working parents during the upcoming summer holidays, so now is the time to take advantage of this support."
Through Tax-Free Childcare, families can receive up to £2,000 a year per child – or £4,000 if their child is disabled – to put towards the cost of childcare. And it is available for children aged up to 11 or 17 if the child has a disability. The money can help towards the cost of holiday clubs, before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, and other approved childcare schemes.
The government will pay 20 percent of childcare costs by topping up the money paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account. This means for every £8 paid into the online account, families will automatically receive an additional £2 in government top-up.
A mum of two, who uses Tax-Free Childcare to help pay for her children’s after school and holiday clubs, explained why she uses it. She said: "I’m a busy working mum with two children and I find Tax-Free Childcare is easy and straight-forward to use. I go on to the system every month and set the amount I need to pay to my childcare provider. The financial support definitely helps but I also like the flexibility and how Tax-Free Childcare helps me budget for my childcare costs."
Various Government schemes help families with the cost of childcare. Details of the schemes and their eligibility criteria can be found at childcarechoices.gov.uk.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, added: “Tax-Free Childcare can make a big difference to families, helping with the bills for things like holiday clubs, nurseries, childminders and after school clubs. It’s easy to register – search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK.”
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