Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of Tax Free Childcare on trends in the level of parents returning to work.

Tax-Free Childcare is available to all parents that earn above the equivalent of 16 hours per week at minimum wage and below £100k. It is therefore available to working parents regardless of where they work and includes the self-employed, making it fairer and more accessible than the offer it replaces – childcare vouchers. It is also paid per child rather than per parent, so lone parents can access the same support as couples, and parents get more support as their childcare costs rise.

The Government has committed to carry out a post-implementation review, two years after the implementation of Tax-Free Childcare to evaluate the impact of the scheme, including on the labour market.

Details on Tax-Free Childcare usage up to September 2019 can be found in the official statistics publication. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-free-childcare-statistics-september-2019