Work and Pensions Committee publishes report on UC and childcare costs

Article summary

The House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee has published a report on Universal Credit (UC) and childcare costs. The report discusses upfront costs, caps and maximum reimbursement, understanding support and eligibility and the childcare industry. The Committee has called on the government to solve the barrier to work for low-income families that have to pay for childcare upfront while UC support is paid in arrears. The report has also found that because the maximum cap of childcare that can be claimed has stayed at the same level since 2005, support for childcare for some of the poorest families has failed to keep pace with inflation, and has therefore recommended the government to uprate childcare cost caps to better reflect the actual cost of childcare in 2022 and index them annually.