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<p>The government provides significant support to help families with childcare affordability,
including:</p><ul><li>15 hours of free childcare a week for all 3 and 4-year-olds,
worth around £2,500 a year on average.</li><li>15 hours of free childcare a week for
disadvantaged 2-year olds, i.e. all those families in receipt of Universal Credit
(UC), with an annual net earned income equivalent to or less than £15,400; families
in receipt of benefits that currently qualify them for free school meals; those receiving
working tax credits (with an annual gross household income of no more than £16,190);
and children entitled to certain benefits or support for a disability or special educational
need, looked-after children and certain children who have been in care, including
those who have been adopted.</li><li>30 hours of free childcare a week, for working
parents of 3 and 4-year-olds. 30 hours is available to families where both parents
are working (or the sole parent is working in a lone parent family), and each parent
earns a weekly minimum equivalent to 16 hours at national minimum wage or living wage.
This also includes self-employed parents.</li><li>Childcare vouchers provided through
some employers, allowing parents to save money by paying for childcare from their
pre-tax salary.</li><li>Help with up to 70% of childcare costs for people on low incomes
through working tax credits, which in April 2016 increased to 85% through UC, subject
to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for 2 or more children.</li><li>Tax-free
childcare, for which 1.5 million families who have childcare costs will be eligible.
For every £8 parents pay into an online account, the government will pay £2 – up to
a maximum contribution of £2,000 per child each year, for children aged under 12.
Parents of disabled children will receive extra support (worth up to £4,000 per child,
each year and until their child is 17).</li></ul><p>To reduce complexity, the government
has introduced a childcare calculator, which parents can use to identify which of
the childcare offers they may be entitled to. There is also the childcare choices
and GOV.UK websites, which provides detailed information about all of the government’s
childcare offers and how parents can apply. Local authorities also have a statutory
duty to provide parents with information, advice and guidance on their websites about
how these childcare offers can be accessed locally.</p>
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