Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has in place to help people in receipt of universal credit with the cost of childcare over the summer holidays.

The Government recognises that childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to both obtain and maintain employment and is committed to removing barriers that prevent parents moving into work.

To overcome this barrier to employment, Universal Credit claimants are able to claim up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, compared to 70 per cent on the legacy system. This can be worth up to £13,000 a year for families with two children.

We recognise the difficulty that some claimants might have in paying childcare costs over the summer holidays and have undertaken significant work to increase work coach awareness, understanding and promotion of both the Universal Credit childcare offer and the wider government childcare offer. This is to ensure that parents who are eligible for the 15 hours of free childcare for disadvantaged families with 2-year-old children, and 30 hours of free childcare for working families, take these up. These free childcare offers can be used in combination with Universal Credit support for childcare.

In addition to this, budgeting advances are available for eligible claimants that can be used to cover the cost of paying additional upfront childcare costs or a deposit that might be needed during the school holidays.