Alliance comments on government tax-free childcare scheme announcement today
18th March 2014
The Alliance has welcomed government plans to introduce a new tax-free childcare scheme under which eligible parents will be able to claim back childcare costs of up to £2000 per year from 2015.
Commenting on the announcement, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, said:
“We welcome the news that more will be done to support parents struggling with the cost of childcare. All families should have access to affordable, high-quality childcare if they choose to use it and this scheme is a positive step to enabling more families to do so.
“However, we remain concerned that the government’s flagship childcare policy is fixated on getting parents back to work and is not sufficiently targeted to benefit those most at need. We would also challenge the wisdom of giving families with joint incomes of £300k per annum the same benefit. Many high earning parents must be uncomfortable with this additional tax break and, indeed, those we have spoken with, share our view.
“It is also interesting to note that the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) recent Parent Survey demonstrated that the vast majority of parents would like to spend more time caring for their children and this latest announcement does nothing to support parents who take the tough decision to sacrifice earnings to spend time caring and educating their children.”
In response to the introduction of the new Early Years Pupil Premium, which will see £50m invested in 2015 - 2016 to help early years providers support the most disadvantaged three-and four-year-olds, Neil Leitch:
“We greatly welcome the news of increased investment into the sector. At last someone in government has acknowledged that delivering high quality education and care cannot be provided on the cheap. However, it is disappointing that the DfE continues to consult after a policy has been launched rather than beforehand. In this case, providers would like to be consulted on the criteria and detail of this new funding including how it will be administered to ensure it reaches and benefits the right children in their care.”
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Notes for editors
- The Pre-school Learning Alliance is the largest voluntary sector provider of quality affordable childcare and education in England.
- Through direct provision and its membership of 14,000 nurseries, sessional pre-schools and parent and toddler groups, the Alliance supports over 800,000 children and their families in England. The Alliance also develops and runs family learning programmes, offers information and advice, runs acclaimed training and accreditation programmes and campaigns to influence early years policy and practice.
- For information about the Pre-school Learning Alliance, visit our website: