The report urges the government to overhaul the system to make sure parents on Universal Credit are fully compensated for their childcare costs - so at 100% - and that the system moves towards more supply-side funding directly to the provider for working parents on Universal Credit.
New research by the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) has found that the government's Universal Credit childcare scheme, which offers parents the option to cover up to 85% of childcare costs, is leaving some severely "out of pocket".
Some of the ways they could do this include fully subsidising preschool childcare for working parents on UC and expanding free childcare support to include clubs not Ofsted-registered, such as sports or drama clubs, providing more flexible, affordable options for low-income working parents.”.
The report said that this would let parents to take on more hours, offer their employers flexibility and remove uncertainty about whether working more hours will actually pay after childcare costs are taken into account.
Parents receiving Universal Credit can already have up to 85% of their childcare costs reimbursed every month, and we urge anyone who needs assistance accessing this support to speak to their work coach.”.
