Parents claiming Universal Credit could now receive an extra £522 a month. That's because the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has increased the amount parents can claim back each month on childcare costs.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo, the change came into effect from Wednesday, June 28. The amount parents can claim back has risen to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two or more children, up from the previous caps of £646 for one child or £1,108 for two or more children.
The Government has also said it will help eligible parents cover the costs of the first month’s childcare when they enter work or significantly increase their hours, in a move designed to help those struggling to take on a job or getting into debt under the current system due to the hefty upfront costs.
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Parents will also continue to receive up to 85% of their childcare costs back before the next month's bills are due, meaning they should have money to pay one month in advance going forward. The extra childcare support for low-income households is worth a total of £900m.
The move was announced in the Spring Budget and is part of the Government's plan to get more people back into work and grow the economy.
The Government also unveiled a package of measures which would give new parents 15 free hours of childcare from when their baby is nine months to the start of school available from September 2024, rising to 30 free hours from September 2025.
