Working parents who are on the Government’s coronavirus support
schemes will still be eligible for childcare support even if
their income falls below the minimum threshold requirement.
The Government has confirmed that from Sunday 1 November,
eligible working parents who receive support through the
Government’s new Job Support Scheme (JSS) and extended
Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue to
receive their childcare entitlements, including the 30 hours
offer and Tax-Free Childcare, even if their income levels fall
below the threshold temporarily whilst on these schemes.
It comes as new data shows that
more parents are returning to their formal childcare settings and
getting back to work after the impact of the pandemic. Official
statistics on early years have found that children’s attendance
at the majority of nurseries, preschools and childminders is
starting to climb back to pre-pandemic levels.
Children and Families Minister said:
This Government is increasing the safety net available to
families, protecting working parents and our dedicated early
years sector. This has been our constant priority, which is why
I am so pleased to see attendance rates rising, as more parents
return to work and take up the formal childcare arrangements
they used before Covid-19 struck.
It’s testament to the hard work of early years professionals
that these numbers are returning to what we would have seen
before the pandemic.
We know challenges remain for many families, which is why we
continue to protect parents’ eligibility for our free childcare
offers so they retain this vital support.
Attendance data
reveals that more parents are returning to their formal childcare
settings, with attendance at early years settings now at 86% of
pre-coronavirus daily levels. This is set to increase further as,
data published today
in the latest parent survey by Ipsos MORI, shows that in
September 94% of parents whose child received formal childcare
before the pandemic were either using formal childcare now, or
were intending to return their child to formal childcare if they
could by January 2021.
It also shows that among those families who had returned to using
formal childcare in September 71% were at the same nursery,
preschool or childminder as before the pandemic, while exactly
half were using the same number of hours of formal childcare as
before. Only one in eight were using fewer hours, while more than
one third (35%) had increased their hours of formal childcare.
Karl Khan, Director General HMRC Customer Service said:
HMRC has been at the forefront of the Government’s response to
the pandemic, and we remain ready to help all customers,
including those who benefit from Tax-Free Childcare. It’s a
generous offer and these easements will ensure that it
continues to help working families across the UK in the winter
months.
Protecting the eligibility and giving vital support to many
working parents across the UK with the costs of childcare -
including parents with school aged children up to age 11 and
disabled children up to 17 - helps those families return to
work when they are able to.
The Job Support Scheme and extension to Self-Employed Income
Support Scheme have been launched to replace the Government’s
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which ends on 31 October.
The minimum income threshold for 30 hours free childcare and
Tax-Free Childcare is usually equal to 16 hours per week at the
national minimum wage. In response to the challenges faced by
working parents during the pandemic, the Government announced in
May that those who were previously eligible, but whose income
temporarily dropped as a direct result of the pandemic, retained
access to support through 30 hours free childcare or Tax-Free
Childcare.
The Department for Education provides 30 hours free childcare to
eligible 3- and 4-year-olds in England and has seen 180,000
applications and around 430,000 reconfirmations for 30 hours
places since March 2020 demonstrating the importance of
protecting parents’ eligibility.
Extending the support further builds on the Government’s
continued commitment for those parents who still need it. In
addition to protecting parents’ eligibility, the government has
provided a significant package of support for the early years
sector over the past months to provide stability and reassurance,
including providing extra security to nurseries and childminders
that are open by ‘block-buying’ childcare places for the rest of
this year at the level that would have been funded before
coronavirus – regardless of how many children are attending.
Providers will also benefit from a planned £3.6 billion funding
in 2020-21 for free early education and childcare places.
Providers in the sector remain optimistic about the future as a
provider’s survey published today has found that in September,
open and temporarily closed GBPs and CMs expect a minimal
reduction in their opening days a week compared to before
COVID-19.
