The
long-awaited announcement by government of new arrangements to help working
parents pay for childcare is great news.
Busy Bees welcomes the principle of this proposal as it will help to
make childcare more affordable for working parents and will be a simple
system. Government has recognised the
financial struggle that parents face and is helping to support them.
The
scheme will eventually replace Childcare Vouchers, available since 1998. Whilst
Childcare Vouchers save parents up to £933 a year, they rely on employers to
provide a scheme as an employee benefit, leading to the support for parents
being very patchy. They are also not available to those who are self-employed
or those on minimum wage (as the law does not allow amounts to be sacrificed
which would take their pay level below the minimum wage threshold). The new
scheme will offer help to households where both parents work and single working
parents. It is estimated the new scheme
will benefit around 2.5 million working parents which in turn will help
employers wanting to recruit and retain skilled staff.
Under
the new scheme, the government will subsidise 20% of childcare fees up to
£6,000 per year for each child. So, in effect, for every £100 paid for
childcare the parents pay £80 and the government adds £20. Parents will therefore be able to get government contributions of up to £1,200 per child, per year. Initially it will be
available for children up to the age of 5 and will eventually include children up
to the age of 12.
John Woodward, MD of Busy
Bees group said:
“We
welcome the government’s proposals to provide financial support to working
parents to help them pay for quality childcare. As the UK’s largest childcare
provider and operator of the existing Childcare Voucher scheme, Busy Bees
understands the financial pressure parents face when paying for childcare,
particularly for early years care.
Whilst
the Childcare Voucher scheme is a popular and effective way to support working
parents, it is clear that rising costs and the increased demand for childcare
to allow parents to return to work means that change is necessary. Busy Bees
recognised the squeeze on ordinary working families and has been campaigning
for the last year for the savings to be increased, working on behalf of parents
who have struggled to meet 2012/13 costs with 2006 allowances. Busy Bees is well
placed to offer the new voucher and will make the scheme as easy as possible
for parents and childcare providers.”
The
Childcare Voucher scheme guarantees that the funds are spent on registered
childcare, avoiding fraudulent activity and providing peace of mind for
parents. This new funding scheme will
continue to guarantee this and will continue to provide the safeguards parents
enjoyed when using Childcare Vouchers.
Until
the new scheme is in place, Childcare Vouchers will continue to be available
and parents are urged to approach their employer asking them to offer a scheme
if they do not already have one as the savings for parents and employers are
significant. Even when the new scheme is
in place, there will be a period of 5 years when parents can still join the Childcare
Voucher scheme if this is to their advantage.
The
new scheme is expected to launch in Autumn 2015 and Busy Bees will be
contributing to the consultation in the period which follows the announcement.
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