The Department listens to a range of stakeholders and considers recommendations, such as those from Save the Children\u2019s recent report, that may improve support for our claimants. We have already improved Universal Credit\u2019s (UC) childcare support; for example, our Work Coaches are already providing increased support through the Flexible Support Fund to help eligible claimants who need help with paying upfront childcare costs, as well as allowing greater flexibility in when claimants can report their childcare costs.<\/p>
<\/strong><\/p> As UC is paid as a single monthly amount directly into people\u2019s bank accounts, it helps families have control over their own budget and making the move into work easier. However, we recognise that childcare costs can affect parents\u2019 decisions to both obtain and maintain employment and we are committed to removing barriers that prevent parents moving into work.<\/p> <\/p> Claimants are able to claim up to 85% of their childcare costs on UC, compared to 70% on the legacy system. This can be worth up to £13,000 a year for families with two children. The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer, which includes free childcare hours and tax free childcare and, during 2019/20, a record amount of £6 billion is being spent on childcare support overall. This offer means that reasonable childcare costs should not form a barrier to work.<\/p> <\/strong><\/p> We are aware of the difficulty that some claimants might have in paying childcare costs over the summer holidays and our work coaches are able to discuss this with them and explain and promote both the UC childcare offer and the wider government childcare offer. In addition to this, budgeting advances are available for eligible claimants that can be used to cover the cost of paying additional upfront childcare cost or a deposit that might be needed during the school holidays.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-23T11:10:11.957Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universal Credit"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the statement in the press release by Save the Children on 3 July 2019, that 30,000 families on universal credit face paying up to £800 in childcare costs this summer.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/167", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stephen Twigg"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Liverpool, West Derby"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Stephen Twigg"}
], "uin" : "279359"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140235", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140235/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Universal Credit (UC) is paid in a single monthly amount directly into people\u2019s bank accounts, giving them control over their own money and making the move into work easier.<\/p> <\/p> The Government is committed to supporting parents with moving into work and, as part of this, we increased the level of support for childcare costs from 70 per cent in legacy benefits to up to 85 per cent in UC. The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer, which includes free childcare hours and tax free childcare. UC claimants can utilise both the free childcare entitlement and UC childcare costs in conjunction with each other for relevant hours. This offer means that reasonable childcare costs should not form a barrier to work.<\/p> <\/p> We have made other changes to ease the burden on claimants and encourage work. We recognise that upfront childcare costs or deposits may prevent a claimant from starting work so Jobcentres can now use the Flexible Support Fund to support the transition into work. When parents have good reason for late reporting of their childcare costs, the Department is piloting a more flexible approach for reimbursing these costs.<\/p> <\/p> Since February 2018, Universal Credit claimants have been able to upload digital copies of their childcare cost receipts or invoices through their online Universal Credit account.<\/p>