Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2021 to Question 72406, how many and what proportion of user accounts for the tax-free childcare scheme that have not had their details reconfirmed in the last three months relate to children under the age of 12.

There were 125,800 accounts that had reached the end of an eligibility period but had not reconfirmed details between 1st August and 31st October 2021. Of these, 125,300 or over 99% relate to children aged under 12 on 31^st October.

There can be many reasons why a family might not reconfirm their account in a 3-month period. For example, there may have been changes to their childcare arrangements or their working arrangements which mean they are no longer eligible for TFC or don’t need it. They may still reactivate and use their TFC account in a future period.