HARD-PRESSED mums and dads are missing out on thousands of pounds of help with childcare costs.
On top of standard child benefit, there is extra support available for children from newborns to teenagers, but much of the money is going unclaimed.
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Some parents could be getting £2,000, or up to 85 per cent of their childcare paid for.
But it seems that thousands of families do not even know about it.
Megan Jarvie, Head of Family and Childcare at children’s charity Coram, said: “It is a complicated system that parents have to navigate themselves, so it’s no wonder some of the help that is available is going unclaimed.
“It is important that people know what is available to them.
“Being able to afford childcare can enable parents to work — and good-quality early years education can help narrow the gap between disadvantaged children and their peers.”
So is your family missing out?
Ensure you are getting all you are entitled to with the following advice.
TAX-FREE CHILDCARE
Tax-free Childcare is paid to help working parents afford support.
But while 1.3million families are eligible, around 800,000 are not taking up the help.
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That means they are missing out on up to £2,000 a year per child.
Under the scheme, for every £8 you pay for childcare, the government pays £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year or £4,000 if your child is disabled.
It is available until the September after your child’s 11th birthday, or 17th birthday for children with disabilities.
To find out how it could help your family, work out 80 per cent of your total childcare bill.
That’s how much you should put in your tax-free childcare account — and you will get the remaining 20 per cent as a top-up.
You can only use it for approved childcare, including a registered childminder, play scheme, nursery or club, and you can only get a maximum of £500 every three months for each child, or £1,000 if your child has disabilities.
You can also use it to pay for holiday clubs, as long as your provider is registered with the Tax-Free Childcare scheme.
It’s important to know that if you get help with childcare costs through either Universal Credit or Tax Credits, you won’t be able to use Tax-Free Childcare at the same time and it could cause benefits to be cut if you register.
UNIVERSAL CREDIT OR WORKING TAX CREDIT
Working Tax Credit is gradually being phased out and replaced by Universal Credit.
You can get the childcare part of Universal Credit if you are a working single parent or part of a couple and you both work (or if one of you is unable to work because of an illness or caring responsibilities).
With Universal Credit, you can get up to 85 per cent of your childcare costs covered up to a maximum of £646 per month for one child or up to £1,108 for two or more children.
The amount you get will depend on your family circumstances.
You can claim childcare costs for all the children you are responsible for, until the end of August after their 16th birthday.
The main drawback is that you have to pay the costs up front and then claim them back, which many may not be able to afford to do.
Megan said: “It offers the most generous support but it is a clunky system that can be a barrier to parents. We would like it to be simplified.”
She urges families to contact their local council’s family information service to find out what support they are entitled to.
PRE-SCHOOLERS
Parents of two-year-olds can get free childcare if they receive certain benefits or their child has a disability. The terms vary depending on whether you live in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Free childcare is available for three and four-year-olds throughout the UK, although the exact offer differs depending on where in the country you live and what your family circumstances are.
In England, all three and four-year-olds qualify for 15 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks a year — 570 hours in total — until the child starts reception year at school.
You might also be able to get an extra 15 hours a week if you are working, earning at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the minimum or living wage and earn no more than £100,000 a year.
l There are different schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with some new programmes currently being rolled out, so see gov.scot, gov.wales and nidirect.gov.uk to find out more.
