PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Children: Day Care (21 July 2022)

The government is providing childcare support in several ways. Support is available through Universal Credit, where working parents on a low income can claim back up to 85% of their childcare costs. Further support is available through Tax-Free Childcare, in which working parents can get up to £2,000 a year per child to pay for childcare, including holiday and out-of-school clubs. This is increased to up to £4,000 a year per child for those with disabilities

The department’s holiday activities and food (HAF) programme also provides free childcare places with healthy meals and enriching activities to children from low-income families, benefiting their heath, wellbeing and learning. The government has committed over £200 million per year for this programme, which is targeted primarily towards children who receive benefits-related free school meals (FSM). Local authorities also have discretion to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of FSM but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. In summer 2021, the programme reached over 600,000 children and young people in England.