North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson is encouraging all parents across Swindon to act now to check their eligibility for two Government schemes to cut the cost of childcare.
The Government is rolling out two schemes to save hardworking families money:
- 30 hours of free childcare & early education for 3 and 4-year olds
- Tax-Free Childcare accounts
All 3 and 4-year-olds in England already get 15 hours a week, or 570 hours a year of free early education. If parents are living and working in England, their 3 and 4-year-olds may be entitled to 30 hours free childcare – an extra 570 hours of free childcare a year, or 1140 hours in total.
The offer should save families around £5,000 per year on childcare, helping them to balance their jobs and family lives and is backed by the Government’s record investment of £6 billion per year in childcare, which includes an extra £1 billion per year by 2020 to deliver the free entitlements.
Parents wanting to take up a 30 hours place for their child in the January term should apply now and ideally by 30 November to ensure they receive their eligibility code in good time for next term. Not all parents can get a code straight away as HMRC sometimes needs more information to check whether a parent is eligible, for example where the parent has a job offer rather than a record of employment with HMRC.
Swindon was a trial area of the 30 hours schemes over the last 12 months and the scheme is now set to be fully rolled out.
Parents who already have a child taking up a 30 hours place also need to confirm their details are up to date every three months. Parents will receive an email notification four weeks and two weeks before this date, reminding them to do so. Parents will need to confirm their details via their online childcare account, which can be found at www.gov.uk/childcareaccount
Additionally, Ministers have confirmed that on 24th November, Tax-Free Childcare will be rolled out to parents whose youngest child is under six or who has their sixth birthday on that day.
Parents will be able to open a new childcare account. For every £8 a parent pays into their childcare account, the government will pay in an extra £2. Parents can get up to £2,000 of Government support per child per year towards their childcare costs - that's up to £500 every 3 months. If they have a child with a disability, they can receive up to £4,000 per child – a total of £1000 every 3 months. They can then use this money to pay their childcare provider.
Parents can use the childcare calculator to check their childcare options and apply online through the childcare service, which can both be accessed at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “I’m delighted that these two schemes will help save hardworking families money by reducing the cost of childcare. Both the 30 hours programme and the Tax-Free Childcare offer will ensure that families can keep more of the money they earn and I know from talking to parents across North Swindon that this will make a real difference. Parents who want to access the 30 hours scheme from January need to make sure they register now to avoid any delays in accessing this excellent programme”.
