Low-income families will be able to access increased childcare support amid the government’s plans to deliver a historic expansion of free childcare from 9 months old to the start of school.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced on Wednesday that parents will be able to claim back monthly for their childcare costs on Universal Credit up to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two or more children.
Universal Credit is a means-tested benefit for people of working age who are on a low income. The announced increase marks a rise of 47 percent from the previous Universal Credit limits of £646 for one child or £1,108 for two or more children. The new scheme kicks off on June 28.
Eligible parents entering work or significantly increasing their hours will receive government help with costs for the first month’s childcare. This will remove one of the most significant barriers to parents working, the DWP suggested.
Those parents will also receive up to 85 percent of their childcare costs back before their next month’s bills are due.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride said these changes will help thousands of parents progress their career without compromising the quality of the care that their children receive.
“By helping more parents to reenter and progress in work, we will be able to cut inactivity and help grow the economy,” Stride added.
The total worth of increased childcare support announced by the government is £900 million.
The expansion of free childcare will save a working parent using 30 hours a week an average of £6,500, said the minister for children, families and wellbeing, Claire Coutinho.
Under current rules in England, parents of children who are 3 to 4 years old can receive 30 hours of free childcare per week, provided they meet the eligibility criteria.
Quality of Care
The government plans to boost the early years workforce and encourage more people to pursue careers in childcare. In that light, the Department for Education announced on Wednesday the launch of a consultation to “remove unnecessary burdens the childcare sector faces.”The new consultation includes proposals to change maths qualification requirements for educators and relax the staff–child ratios.
Commenting on the proposed changes, the Chief Executive of the Early Years Alliance (EYA) Neil Leitch questioned their effect on the workers’ professionalism.
“While we recognise that some of the proposals—such as changes to maths qualification requirements—announced today have been long called for by those working in the early years, it’s hard to shake the feeling that many of the proposals have nothing to do with quality, and everything to do with a desperate attempt to boost workforce numbers ahead of the extension of the 30-hours offer,” Leitch said.
“Taken together, there is a real risk that they will result in a de-professionalisation of the workforce at a time when the need for quality care and education is as high as it’s ever been.”
He questioned the decision to relax ratios for 2-year-olds “despite almost universal opposition,” arguing that EYA was concerned that the government’s desire to create more “free childcare” will be prioritised over the need to deliver quality early education opportunities.
Coutinho, however, argued that the government was “knocking down barriers to recruiting and retaining the talented staff that provide such wonderful care for our children.”
From September, the hourly rates paid to providers to deliver free childcare for 2-year-olds will increase by 30 percent from an average rate of £6 to £8. In 2024 the government will also launch a new recruitment campaign in the childcare sector.
