The two-year Childcare Affordability Pilot is run by HMRC and funded by the Child Poverty Unit and was designed to test out different ways of accessing the childcare element of tax credits.
Ministers decided on 29 June to stop two of the three strands of the pilot: one that offered families 100 per cent of their childcare costs paid by HMRC and another that paid families actual costs rather than average costs. Parents on the actual costs pilot were given a £500 advance to help them arrange childcare.
The third strand, which involves subsidised childcare for parents of disabled or SEN children will continue.
Denise Burke, integrated and extended services consultant and former head of childcare at the LDA, said, 'The pilot may not have been perfect, but the parents affected by the scrapping of the scheme will feel very let down and it will have a significant financial impact.
'Unemployed parents were targeted to take part in the pilot and assured that all their childcare costs would be covered for the duration of the pilot. This was one of a number of child poverty pilots to rigorously test approaches exploring the impact the affordability of childcare has on sustainable parental employment.
'It's very disappointing that the Government has brought forward the end date of these pilots, especially before there has been the opportunity to evaluate the success of the pilots.
'The cost of childcare, particularly in London, remains the main barrier to sustainable employment for many parents and it's well documented that work is the route out of poverty.'
With thanks to www.nurseryworld.co.uk.
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http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/bulletin/NurseryWorldUpdate/article/1018677/?DCMP=EMC-CONNurseryWorldUpdate
