Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report Making Childcare Work: Fixing upfront childcare costs for families on universal credit, published by Save the Children on 21 June 2018, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of upfront childcare costs under universal credit on the level of debt incurred by low-income families.

DWP continues to continuously improve the Universal Credit experience for claimants and to ensure that they are supported throughout their journey. For those with children, this includes ensuring that help with up front childcare costs is available for Universal Credit households with a low income.

Claimants with a firm job offer can claim Universal Credit Childcare costs up to 1 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 and claimants work together to ensure that, where this is taken up, repayments are affordable and manageable.

If a budgeting advance is not appropriate, the Flexible Support Fund may also provide assistance. Payments from this fund are non-repayable, and are managed locally to provide tailored and targeted support for claimants to move into work.

From 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: most claimants reporting their in-month childcare costs are not asked to provide further evidence.