Childcare benefits for 2,600 families frozen by IT glitches

NEARLY 3,000 families cannot claim two childcare benefits thanks to problems with the Revenue and Customs website.

The Daily Mail revealed last week how the Government’s new flagship childcare scheme had fallen into chaos, leaving families out of pocket and children at risk of losing nursery places.

Now the taxman has revealed the full extent of the fiasco, with 2,600 families still waiting for applications to be approved.

Nicky Morgan, chairman of the Commons Treasury select committee, demanded an explanation for the meltdown last month.

In his response, Jon Thompson, chief executive of HM Revenue and Customs, said the taxman had received 1,507 complaints about its new childcare website, more than 90 per cent of which were about IT problems.

He said there were 244,000 applications for the two new schemes – 30 hours of free childcare and tax-free childcare accounts.

Some 208,000 have been successful, and of the remainder most are either undergoing additional checks or are not eligible. But technical

‘Unprepared to deliver’

issues have stopped 2,600 – more than 1 per cent of all applications. Since the website launched in April it has been down for 160 hours and eight minutes – almost a full week.

Miss Morgan said HMRC officials would have to explain themselves to the committee, adding: ‘Clearly further improvements are required.’

The tax-free accounts were set up in April to give parents a £2 top-up for every £8 they save towards nursery fees. But computer glitches have stopped some from opening an account or accessing their money. HMRC has paid £45,687 in compensation as a result.

Beginning next month, the other scheme will double the free childcare hours for working families with children of three and four.

HMRC said it would provide 200,000 of the codes needed to claim the childcare by August 31. But many families are waiting with days to go until the deadline and could miss out on nursery places or not get the hours they need.

Neil Leitch, from the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: ‘Thirty hours’ free childcare and tax-free childcare were key Conservative manifesto promises, which the Government seems wholly unprepared to deliver.’