Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to universal credit claimants who start a job with upfront childcare costs.

DWP continues to make changes to improve the Universal Credit experience for claimants and ensure that up front childcare costs do not have a financial effect on Universal Credit households with a low income.

For example, we have introduced measures to reduce the waiting time for the reimbursement of upfront childcare costs. Since February 2018, Universal Credit claimants have been able to upload digital copies of their childcare cost receipts or invoices through their online Universal Credit account. Improvements in Universal Credit IT have also meant that most claimants reporting their in-month childcare costs are not asked to provide further evidence and are paid automatically with their Universal Credit award.

In addition, claimants with a firm job offer can claim Universal Credit Childcare costs up to one month prior to starting work to enable their children to settle into a new routine. We also offer extra support to enable parents to pay upfront childcare costs or deposits: for example, claimants may be eligible to receive an advance of their future Universal Credit entitlement, which is interest free. Work coaches work with our claimants to ensure that, where this is taken up, repayments are affordable and manageable.