Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial impact assessment has been made of operating (a) childcare vouchers and (b) tax-free childcare concurrently.

In response to the question on the proportion of self employed parents eligible for Tax-Free Childcare, I refer the Hon Member to the answer that I gave on 4 December to the Hon Member for Batley and Spen (PQ 116593).

Parents need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours per week at National Living Wage to be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. The government also provides support with childcare costs for those on lower incomes through tax credits and Universal Credit.

Parents who meet the eligibility conditions for Tax-Free Childcare on the day they apply, or reconfirm, will qualify for support for a three month eligibility period. They remain eligible until the end of that period even if their circumstances change, for example if a parent becomes unemployed. Those starting work can apply for Tax-Free Childcare up to 31 days before taking up their new job. Parents may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare if they are in receipt of Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance and have a partner who is in work.

An updated impact assessment for Tax-Free Childcare was published in March 2017. This can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/652939/Tax-free_childcare_Impact_Assessment-March_2017.pdf

An updated expenditure forecast for Tax-Free Childcare was published as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook in November 2017. An update on the Tax-Free Childcare forecast can be found on page 254 of the document here:

http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/Nov2017EFOwebversion-2.pdf

We estimate that over 50,000 employers offer childcare voucher schemes. We do not hold specific information about which employers offer childcare vouchers.