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1365965

registered interest
date	03/11/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Childcare Vouchers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing the use of unused childcare vouchers issued during the covid-19 outbreak for school trips and other activities that take place during school hours.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	69041
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2021 answer text <p>To protect and safeguard children, Childcare Vouchers may only be used for regulated supervised childcare activities (e.g. wraparound childcare). Childcare Vouchers cannot be used to cover the costs of activities during school hours as they fall outside of the definition of childcare.</p><p> </p><p>We are aware that some parents have excess vouchers as a result of the pandemic, and it may be possible to use these for other forms of childcare. Some childcare providers do accept them, for example, towards the cost of holiday clubs and a range of after-school activities.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, parents may consider temporarily reducing their contributions to the Childcare Voucher scheme, to avoid creating an excess. They may also seek to get a refund from their employer or voucher provider. Whether the refund to parents is possible depends on the contract between the voucher provider, employee and employer.</p> answering member constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland answering member printed Mr Simon Clarke question first answered 08/11/2021 14:07:53 answering member 4655 label Biography information for Sir Simon Clarke
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1351653

registered interest
date	18/08/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Childcare Vouchers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making unused tax-free childcare vouchers transferable to other families in need of childcare support.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	41102
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2021 answer text <p>Childcare Vouchers are now closed to new entrants and the Government has no plans to reopen or reform them. They have been replaced with Tax-Free Childcare (TFC). TFC is fairer as it makes access to childcare support available to more working families, including the self-employed and those working for employers who don’t offer vouchers. Lone parent households also receive the same support as those with more than one parent, unlike Childcare Vouchers where support is allocated per working parent.</p><p> </p><p>TFC does not operate via vouchers, instead parents set up an online childcare account for their child. For every £8 parents pay into this account, the government pays in £2, up to £2000 per year. Parents can then use the money in their account to pay for approved childcare from a registered provider.</p><p> </p><p>Parents with unspent Childcare Vouchers can seek to get a refund from their employer or voucher provider. Whether the refund is possible depends on the contract between the voucher provider, employee and employer.</p> answering member constituency North East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Steve Barclay question first answered 06/09/2021 08:07:11 answering member 4095 label Biography information for Steve Barclay
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1304317

registered interest
date	19/03/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Childcare Vouchers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of total parental contributions to childcare vouchers in the 2020-21 financial year.
tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
tabling member printed	Kate Green
uin	172074
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2021 answer text <p>The government does not hold data for parental contributions made towards childcare vouchers. We obtain estimates of numbers of recipients and value of vouchers from data supplied voluntarily by voucher providers to HMRC. These estimates for 2020/21 will be available in Autumn 2021.</p> answering member constituency North East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Steve Barclay question first answered 24/03/2021 09:29:21 answering member 4095 label Biography information for Steve Barclay
tabling member	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green

1142794

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Childcare Vouchers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment has been made of the effect of the closure of Childcare Vouchers to new entrants on working families; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-opening that scheme.
tabling member constituency	Belfast South
tabling member printed	Emma Little Pengelly
uin	284435
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) was rolled out throughout 2017 and 2018 to replace childcare vouchers. TFC is better targeted than childcare vouchers, as it broadens access to childcare to all families who meet the eligibility criteria, whether they are an employee or self-employed and regardless of who their employer is. It is also fairer, because support is paid per child rather than per parent, so lone parent households get the same support as those with more than one parent.<p> </p><p>The Government has no plans to re-open the childcare vouchers scheme in the future.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 09/09/2019 09:34:36 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4611 label Biography information for Emma Little Pengelly

1121923

registered interest
date	18/04/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Childcare Vouchers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consultations were undertaken by his Department prior to the phasing out of the kiddicare voucher scheme.
tabling member constituency	Ribble Valley
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Evans
uin	245640
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2019 answer text <p>The government announced at Budget 2013 that income tax and NICs reliefs on childcare vouchers would be phased out once a new, fairer and better-targeted scheme, Tax-Free Childcare, was introduced.</p><p> </p><p>This was followed by consultations on the delivery of Tax-Free Childcare (<a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tax-free-childcare" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tax-free-childcare</a>).</p><p> </p><p>The government published its initial impact assessment of the transition from Employer Supported Childcare to Tax-Free Childcare as part of the passage of the Childcare Payments Act 2014 on 20 November 2014, including an assessment on relevant equalities impacts covering families on low incomes, lone parents, carers and disabled people, older people, those taking parental leave and assisted digital access.</p><p> </p><p>The original impact assessment is available here:</p><p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-free-childcare-impact-assessment" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-free-childcare-impact-assessment</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The impact assessment was updated on 20 April 2017, the update is available here: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-free-childcare-impact-assessment-march-2017" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-free-childcare-impact-assessment-march-2017</a>.</p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 29/04/2019 09:47:26 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
tabling member	474 label Biography information for Mr Nigel Evans

1121924

registered interest
date	18/04/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Childcare Vouchers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse was of providing the kiddicare voucher scheme in the most recent 12 months for which information is available.
tabling member constituency	Ribble Valley
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Evans
uin	245641
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2019 answer text <p>HMRC’s publication ‘Estimated Costs of Principal Tax Reliefs’ includes the forecast cost of Employer Supported Childcare tax reliefs, of which Childcare Vouchers are the largest component, for the six years up to and including 2018/19. (<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/782480/Jan19_Principal_Reliefs_Final.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/782480/Jan19_Principal_Reliefs_Final.pdf</a>)</p><p> </p><p>HM Treasury does not hold information relating to the cost of individual childcare voucher schemes offered by specific providers.</p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 29/04/2019 09:45:06 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
tabling member	474 label Biography information for Mr Nigel Evans

982804

registered interest
date	08/10/2018
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Childcare Vouchers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on the household finances of families with young children of closing the childcare voucher scheme to new entrants from 4 October 2018; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	176348
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2018 answer text <p>This Government is committed to supporting families and we will be spending around £6 billion every year by 2020 in childcare support – more than ever before.</p><p> </p><p>Tax-free Childcare, unlike vouchers, helps parents with higher childcare costs more, which is usually those with younger children. Therefore the transition is likely to have a positive effect on parents with younger children. This is because Tax-Free Childcare is paid per child rather than per parent and provides up to £2,000 in government support per child.</p><p> </p><p>Childcare vouchers closed to new applicants only in October 2018. There is no impact on parents already using childcare vouchers, who will be able to continue using vouchers as long as they work for the same employer and their employer continues to offer them.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 16/10/2018 09:56:48 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

969029

registered interest
date	06/09/2018
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Childcare Vouchers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether an assessment has been made of the potential effect on family incomes of the closure to new entrants of the childcare voucher scheme.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	171382
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2018 answer text <p>I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 25 June 2018 to the Honourable Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (155282).</p><p> </p><p>We estimate that around 60,000 parents with qualifying childcare costs are eligible for TFC in Wales.</p><p> </p><p>To date about 4,000 applications have been received from Welsh parents for TFC and about 2,750 currently have a live account.</p><p> </p><p>A marketing campaign was launched on 10 September 2018, to increase awareness and take-up of Tax-Free Childcare.</p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss grouped question UIN 171388 question first answered 13/09/2018 15:19:31 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

969234

registered interest
date	06/09/2018
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Childcare Vouchers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to keep the childcare voucher scheme open after 4 October 2018.
tabling member constituency	Knowsley
tabling member printed	Mr George Howarth
uin	171294
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2018 answer text <p>I refer the Honourable member to my statement made on 29 March 2018.</p><p>www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statements/?page=1&amp;max=20&amp;questiontype=AllQuestions&amp;house=commons%2clords&amp;member=4097</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 12/09/2018 10:51:41 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
tabling member	481 label Biography information for Sir George Howarth

947485

registered interest
date	25/07/2018
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Childcare Vouchers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral contribution of 13 March 2018, Official Report, column 802, what steps he has taken during the six-month extension to the childcare voucher scheme to address the concerns raised in that debate.
tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
uin	168010
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2018 answer text <p>HM Treasury, the Department for Education and HM Revenue &amp; Customs met with the Northern Ireland Department of Education in June to discuss the experience of developing and administering the 30 hours free childcare policy in England.</p><p> </p><p>To reflect concerns about the timing of the closure of childcare vouchers and the transition to Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) raised in the debate in April, the government took the decision to keep childcare vouchers open for a further six months until October. This has allowed more time for TFC to bed in, for awareness to increase and for families to understand the support they can receive under the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>HM Revenue and Customs have been making improvements to the childcare service since it was launched in April 2017. Over the last four months they have provided over 99% of parents with an eligibility decision within 5 working days; reduced the number of problems that parents experienced, meaning that less than 1% of parents now see an error screen whilst applying or using their account; and made improvements to the customer experience. As a result, there has been an increase in parent satisfaction to over 80%.</p><p> </p><p>The government has increased communications about TFC and the Childcare Choices website. As a result, we have seen a rise in the number of visitors to the sites. Communications activity will increase further in September at the start of the new school year, with a marketing campaign in the autumn to support take up of TFC.</p><p> </p><p>All public-sector workers in the UK who meet the eligibility criteria for TFC will be able to claim government support for 20% of their childcare costs, up to an annual maximum of £2,000 for each child. We are working to make sure all parents, including those in the public sector, are aware of this support and how to access it. Ministers and officials have also met with interested stakeholders across the UK.</p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss grouped question UIN 168008 168165 168168 question first answered 06/09/2018 12:57:34 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner