Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to the Chancellor’s summer economic update, what assessment she made of the adequacy of the childcare offer for universal credit claimants prior to that update.

The Universal Credit (UC) childcare offer remains the same and working families can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month. This can be claimed up to a month before starting a job. For families with two children this could be worth up to £13,000 a year.

Help with upfront childcare costs for starting work is available through a non-repayable Flexible Support Fund (FSF) award for eligible UC claimants. The FSF received an additional £150m this financial year to help support UC claimants to move closer to, or in to, work. Help with upfront costs for eligible UC claimants is available through Budgeting Advances