More parents in area using Government childcare scheme
More parents in Scarborough are using a Government scheme to help with the cost of childcare, new figures reveal.
Tax-free Childcare supports working families by topping up cash they pay into a pot for services such as childminders, nurseries and nannies.
But industry body the Early Years Alliance has labelled it a “dead horse of a policy” that penalises disadvantaged households, and which has seen poor uptake since its launch.
HMRC data shows mums and dads in Scarborough paid into tax-free childcare accounts for 510 children in 2019-20, up from 245 the previous year.
Families get 20p for every 80p they put into their account, up to £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 for a child with a disability.
While more families in Scarborough are benefitting from the subsidy, a comparison with population estimates suggests many are not.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said “only a fraction” of eligible families had registered for an account since they were made available.
He added: “Tax-free childcare has always been a regressive and fundamentally flawed policy which unfairly penalises disadvantaged families, as the more money parents can save towards childcare, the more government support they’re entitled to.”
Members of the early years sector have accused the Government of leaving them out of a recently announced £1 billion package aimed at tackling the impact of Covid-19 on young people.
The National Day Nurseries Association says ministers should use savings made due tolowuptakeofTax-freeChildcare to help the sector.
A Government spokesman said: “Tax-free Childcare is a great offer for working parents and we continue to encourage more parents to apply for it.
“We’ve also put in place measures to ensure parents who are normally eligible for Tax-free Childcare will continue to receive the government top-up if their income levels fall due to the impact of coronavirus.”
Across the UK, around 396,000 children had accounts paid into in 2019-20 – almost double the figure a year earlier.
“Tax-free childcare is a great offer for working parents”