Universal Credit: Childcare
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of universal credit childcare support rules on families (a) who home-educate and (b) whose children attend educational settings registered on the early years register.
Answered by Sir Stephen Timms
No such assessment has been made.
Childcare cost claims should be relevant to the hours a customer is undertaking paid work, but allowances are made for reasonable travelling time. For school-age children, eligible childcare costs should be outside of school hours.
Childcare support in Universal Credit is paid in respect of payments to registered childcare providers. This generally means the childcare provider is registered with OFSTED (or the equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), a child-minder that is registered with a Child-Minding Agency (CMA) or by a domiciliary care provider registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Childcare provided under the direction of the proprietor of a school, on school premises, out of school hours are also eligible.
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