Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the High Court's ruling in January 2021, what steps her Department is taking to amend or remove the proof of payment mechanism for assessing and paying the childcare costs element of universal credit.

The Department has been granted permission to appeal. It is therefore not appropriate to comment at this time. It should be noted there are no changes to the current processes and the legislation remains the same.

The policy of reimbursing actual childcare costs paid has, as intended, resulted in a significantly lower level of fraud and error than in the legacy system, which was based on projected costs.

Eligible claimants can claim up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month compared to 70% in legacy benefits.