Parents on Universal Credit ‘prisoners to the high cost of childcare’, MPs warn

Parents on Universal Credit (UC) who want to work or increase their hours are being held “prisoners to the high cost of childcare”, MPs have warned.

Support for childcare costs through the benefit is only enough to cover part-time hours and is stopping parents from working for longer, according to a report from the Work and Pensions Committee.

Those on UC can get back up to 85% of a £760 monthly childcare bill for one child – a maximum of £646.35 a month.

The £760 cap on total costs eligible for support has remained the same since 2005 and is “long overdue” a reassessment, the MPs said.

This only covers around 27 hours a week, the committee said, making it difficult for parents to move beyond part-time work.

The Committee is calling for this to be uprated to better reflect the cost of childcare.

It also said parents are often being pushed into debt as they have to pay for childcare costs upfront, while Universal Credit payments are delivered in arrears.

The committee said this has created an “insurmountable barrier to work” for some households which needs addressing, if necessary by introducing a direct payment system.

Sir Stephen Timms, Labour MP and Committee chairman, said: “Many parents supported by Universal Credit want to work or work longer to provide for their families but are prisoners to the high cost of childcare and a system that requires upfront payment and the invidious choice of taking on debt or turning down work.

“A reassessment of the eligible childcare costs cap is clearly long overdue and a move away from forcing parents to pick up the cost of childcare before receiving benefits is also vital if families are to have access to good quality and affordable childcare.

“This is key not just to helping parents to increase their hours but also for the transformative impact it can have on the lives of children.”

Joeli Brearley, chief executive of Pregnant Then Screwed, said asking parents on Universal Credit to pay upfront for childcare is “completely bonkers”.

She said: “We have heard from hundreds of parents who have been offered a job, only to discover that they need over £1,000 in their bank to pay for a childcare place, leaving them with no choice but to turn down work.

“This system of reimbursing childcare fees, locks parents on a low income out of the labour market and pushes them further into poverty.

“It is yet another example of mothers being set up to fail by this Government, who seem hellbent on creating hurdle after hurdle for those who want to earn a living.

“And then we wonder whey we have so many economically inactive parents in this country and so many children living in poverty.”

Megan Jarvie, head of Coram Family and Childcare, said: “Our research has shown that even a part-time nursery place costs an average of £138 per week, so, for low and middle-income households, financial support with childcare costs is essential to stop parents from effectively paying to go to work.

“But currently Universal Credit is falling far short of what is needed.

“Given the squeeze on finances that families are facing, we urgently need Government to fix these longstanding problems with Universal Credit so that working or working more means families are better off rather than pushed into debt.”

Save the Children praised the committee for listening to parents who are “crying out for the broken childcare system to change”.

Dan Paskins, director of UK Impact at the charity, said: “We’re particularly encouraged by calls for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Department for Education (DFE) to work together to remove up-front childcare costs for those on Universal Credit, which have pushed many parents into debt and act as a barrier to returning to and progressing at work.

“We also welcome the recommendation to uprate the childcare cost caps to better reflect how extortionate childcare costs are in 2022.

“The cap has not risen since 2005 and with inflation at levels not seen for 40 years, uprating the cap would relieve pressures on parents’ finances and ensure that entering work or increasing hours was financially worth it for families.”

A DWP spokeswoman said: “Universal Credit’s childcare offer is carefully designed to support parents into work, paying up to 85% of their childcare costs (up to a maximum of £646.35 a month) which is significantly more generous than the legacy system.

“Work coaches can help claimants get up to a month’s support before starting a job regardless of the number of hours worked.

“The government has spent more than £20 billion over the past five years to support with the cost of childcare, empowering providers and ensuring families can access the help they are entitled to while saving money on their bills.”