Childcare boost for parents
PARENTS in Halton with a youngster under the age of five can now apply for a 30 hours free childcare place.
The new childcare offer is for working parents of three and four-year-olds in the borough and will be active from September.
A Department For Education (DFE) spokesman said the move doubles the current 15 hours of free childcare currently available to all parents and offers a total saving for eligible working families of up to £5,000 a year.
The spokesman said: “The Government’s total childcare offer is backed by a record investment of more than £6bn per year by 2020, supporting working families and those on low incomes.
“Eligible parents can apply for both 30 hours free childcare and tax-free childcare via the Government’s online childcare service.
“They can apply for all of their children once their youngest child qualifies, avoiding the need to provide the same information twice and saving them valuable time.
“The service initially opened to parents with children under the age of four, and disabled children under 17, in April 2017 and more than 140,000 parents have already successfully applied through the service.”
For parents in Runcorn and Widnes, the DFE said tax-free childcare will cut childcare costs by up to £2,000 per year for each child under 12, or £4,000 per year for disabled children aged under 17.
Parents with a child born on or after April 1, 2013, can also now apply for tax-free childcare.
All eligible parents will be able to apply for tax-free childcare by the end of 2017.
For more information visit www. childcarechoices.gov.uk ●