HUNDREDS of thousands of parents on Universal Credit will see a major boost to childcare help from next week.
In a huge win for The Sun’s Make Universal Credit Work campaign, childcare costs will now be paid upfront for many parents and the amount they get will rise.
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The move has been described as “life-changing” by one mum who can finally apply for jobs knowing she won’t have to find more than £900 to pay a month’s nursery fees before she can start work.
From Wednesday, the rates paid to families are also increasing to help cover rising nursery and childminder fees.
The amount parents can claim will go up from £646 to £951 a month for one child.
Families with two kids will see payments leap from £1,108 to £1,630.
The amounts remain capped at 85 per cent of childcare costs.
For mum-of-one Chloe McIntyre, 28, upfront childcare payments mean she can get her career back on track and pay off energy bill debts.
“We can breathe again and I’m excited for the future,” said Chloe, who lives in Melton Mowbray with her partner Jack Gordon, 38, a fitness instructor, and their 13-month-old daughter, Clemmie.
“I desperately wanted to get back to work. The only reason I haven’t is the shocking cost of childcare.
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“It costs £70 a day to put Clemmie into childcare and we simply don’t have the savings to pay more than £900 to cover a month’s costs before I even start earning.
“I want to work as a carer and begin a career in social work.
“But I’ve been stuck in this situation, watching as bills go up, but powerless to earn money — it has been soul-destroying.
“This will be life-changing — I’ll be able to work three days a week and my costs will be covered.”
Chloe added: “I’ve already got interviews lined up and I can’t wait to start working again.
“It’s boosted my confidence and I have new hope.
“I’m grateful to The Sun for fighting on the side of mums like me to get these important changes.”
Deven Ghelani, a benefits expert at consultancy Policy in Practice, said: “Upfront payments for childcare have been a problem from day one.
“The Sun’s campaign helped push this up the priority list.
“With the cost of living skyrocketing, these payments will help people in work to stay in work.
“They will also make it easier for other parents to get back into work and so be better off.”
Action for Children director of policy Imran Hussain added: “The new childcare help in Universal Credit will support parents to leap over the huge hurdle of upfront nursery fees that stands in the way of parents looking to escape poverty by moving into work or working longer hours.”
How the changes work
MANY families won’t see their childcare payments increase right away because of the way these are calculated over different “assessment periods”, depending on when they first claimed UC.
For some, the increase won’t come until August.
Parents who are already working and claiming childcare costs won’t get their payments upfront unless they change jobs or there is a “significant change” to their hours.
But those starting new jobs or increasing hours should be able to claim upfront costs.
The Department for Work and Pensions said parents need to up their hours by “at least a few hours more every week” to qualify for upfront childcare payments.
Parents increasing hours or starting new jobs must speak to their work to request that costs are paid upfront, the DWP said.
Now… end the five-week wait for EVERYONE
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SINCE The Sun launched our Make Universal Credit Work campaign in 2018, we have continued to call for an end to the five-week wait for the first payment when claimants initially sign up for the benefit.
The delay means millions are forced to borrow money through an “advance” just to cover their bills if they lose their job or have to go on to Universal Credit for other reasons.
Loan repayments are then deducted from the amount claimants get when their payments begin, meaning they have less to make ends meet.
Today we renew our call for the Government to cut this delay to two weeks.
David Samson of benefits charity Turn2us says: “The five-week wait needs to be scrapped because it drags new claimants of UC into unnecessary hardship.
“It does this by causing claimants to get into debt from the start of their claim through taking out an advance or borrowing elsewhere.”
A spokesperson for the DWP said: “Urgent payments are available under Universal Credit [in the form of advances] so that nobody has to wait five weeks for their money.
“We support millions of people every year making sure they get the benefits they are entitled to as soon as possible and they receive a supportive and compassionate service.”
