Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the amount of unspent (a) childcare vouchers and (b) money in tax-free childcare accounts.

We do not publish data on the amount of unspent childcare vouchers or money in Tax-Free Childcare accounts. Data on the number of unspent childcare vouchers would rest with each individual provider. However, I recognise that the number of parents with unspent childcare vouchers has increased as a result of the pandemic.

The Government is continuing to work with the childcare sector in order to understand how to best support them to ensure that safe, appropriate and affordable childcare is available for those returning to work now, and for all families who need it in the longer term.

Parents with Childcare Vouchers they do not need can seek to get a refund from their employer. However, whether the refund is possible depends on the contract between the voucher provider, employee and employer. Any amounts refunded would also be subject to the appropriate tax and NICs deductions.

Childcare Vouchers are now closed to new entrants. They have been replaced with Tax-Free Childcare (TFC). TFC is fairer as it makes access to childcare support available to more working families, including the self-employed and those working for employers who don’t offer vouchers. Lone parent households also receive the same support as those with more than one parent, unlike Childcare Vouchers where support is allocated per working parent. In addition, parents can withdraw the money they have paid in at any time, with the top-up going back to the Government.