Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant the oral statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer entitled Summer Economic Update, Official Report, column 973, what steps her Department is taking to increase the childcare offer for claimants of universal credit.

Under Universal Credit, working families can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month. This can be claimed up to a month before starting a job. For families with two children this could be worth up to £13,000 a year.

Help with upfront childcare costs for starting work is available through a non-repayable Flexible Support Fund (FSF) award for eligible UC claimants, with the FSF receiving an additional £150m this financial year to help support UC claimants to move closer to or in to work. Help with upfront costs for eligible UC claimants is available through Budgeting Advances.