Mind the Gap – Raise the Cap Campaign
The Government is launching a new Tax-free Childcare scheme in the Autumn of 2015 to help working parents pay for their childcare costs.
Under the new scheme, working parents will pay 80% of their childcare fees and the Government will contribute the remaining 20% for children under the age of 5. This contribution applies to childcare costs of up to £6,000 per year, which will save parents up to £1,200 per child, per year.
However…
The current average annual cost of childcare is circa £7,500. This will rise each year in line with National Minimum Wage increases. Therefore, by the time the new scheme is available, the gap between the £6,000 cap and the average cost of childcare will have widened further.
Busy Bees Benefits is calling on the Government to preserve the value of the Tax-free Childcare scheme.
Campaign…
The campaign aims to:
- Prompt the Government to increase the cap in line with childcare costs before the scheme is launched.
- Persuade the Government to commit to reviewing and increasing the cap annually in line with National Minimum Wage changes.
Busy Bees Benefits has an e-petition set up to raise the issue with the Government.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE E-PETITION
Why raise the cap annually?
The new Tax-free Childcare scheme will be available to many more working parents than the current Childcare Voucher scheme as it will be open to the self-employed and those on low incomes. Therefore, affordable childcare will be more valuable than ever.
In order to preserve the value of the scheme and to bridge the gap between the savings and the cost of childcare, the Government would need to review and increase the cap each year.
For more information about the new Tax-free Childcare scheme please visit www.taxfreechildcarescheme.com
*Figures derived from Laing & Buisson Children's Nurseries UK Market Report 2012
