UK to provide more support for critical workers under childcare schemes

THE critical workers in the UK who may exceed the income threshold for the 2020-21 year, will continue to receive childcare support this tax year.

Also, working parents or carers, who are eligible for tax-free childcare or 30 hours free childcare but have temporarily fallen below the minimum income requirement as a result of the pandemic, will continue to receive financial support until 31 October, the government said on Wednesday (5).

Through tax-free childcare, families will receive a £2 government top-up for every £8 they pay into their child’s account, up to the value of £2,000 per child, or £4,000 per disabled child. The money can be used towards the cost of qualifying childcare for a child up to the age of 11 or 17 for a disabled child, an official statement said.

To continue receiving the financial support for tax-free childcare and 30 hours free childcare, parents need to reconfirm their eligibility every three months, it further said.

“HMRC has been providing vital financial support to families during a time when it has been needed most and we will continue to help them as they gradually transition back to a normal life," said Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s deputy chief executive and second permanent secretary.

“We want to make sure families will not be adversely affected by any abrupt change in circumstances, which is why we have extended available support through tax-free childcare to give families that extra boost.”

The department for dducation (DfE) provides 30 hours free childcare to eligible three to four year olds in England. Nearly, 350,000 children benefitted from 30 hours in January 2020 alone. Since the start of the lockdown 55,000 parents have applied for the benefit.

“Our 30 Hours childcare offer has always been about supporting parents back into work, and in these times, this ambition is now more important than ever. That is why we are again extending eligibility for the government’s childcare offers so that no parent loses out because of a fall in income due to coronavirus," said children’s minister Vicky Ford.

"We are continuing to provide longer term reassurance to nurseries and childminders that are open by ‘block-buying’ childcare places for the rest of this year at the level we would have funded before coronavirus, regardless of how many children are attending.”

The HMRC has informed that parents and carers who receive the childcare element of working tax credits should inform the department if they expect this to continue beyond 7 September.