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<p>The Government announced the closure of the childcare voucher scheme to new entrants
at Budget 2016. Therefore, parents of 12 to 15 year olds have either decided not to
join the voucher scheme or are unable to join the scheme because they are self-employed
or their employer does not offer vouchers. Parents who meet the eligibility requirements
will not necessarily have an employer who offers them.</p><p> </p><p>Information on
the cost of childcare, by child age, is published by the Department for Education
in table 4.7 of the additional tables document of the childcare and early years survey
of parents, which can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2017"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2017</a></p><p>The
median childcare cost used in the table is the more accurate for comparing childcare
costs as it is less affected by statistical outliers than the mean.</p><p> </p><p>The
estimate of eligible families for Tax-Free Childcare was derived using Family Resource
Survey which can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-resources-survey--2"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-resources-survey--2</a>.
It is not possible break this down by local authority.</p><p> </p><p>Tax-Free Childcare
has a wider reach than childcare vouchers. Unlike vouchers which are reliant on whether
an employer chooses to offer them, all eligible parents are able to access the Tax-Free
Childcare, including the self-employed. Only an estimated 5% of employers offer childcare
vouchers.</p><p> </p><p>Data on how many parents intend to, or have stopped using
childcare vouchers in order to use Tax-Free childcare is not available.</p>
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