UK families on universal credit to get childcare costs paid upfront

theguardian.com:

Poorer working parents are to be given more help with the costs of childcare as part of this week’s budget, after warnings that support for them has been severely eroded, and that claiming it is too complicated.

Parents eligible for help through universal credit will now be given childcare funding upfront, while it is understood that the amount they can claim will increase by hundreds of pounds. However, the budget will also contain more obligations on such parents to search for work and there will be a general tightening of sanctions aimed at those on welfare.

The extra help for childcare costs comes after an outcry from local government. Councils across England have joined calls for more support, amid concerns that only 13% of parents are claiming the falling level of support they are entitled to receive.

Under the current universal credit system, working households can claim back 85% of childcare costs up to a maximum of £646 a month for one child, or £1,108 for two or more. However, the cap has remained the same since 2005, despite childcare costs more than doubling since then in some cities, including London.

It means that, in 99% of local areas, the average price of a full-time nursery place for a child under two is higher than the maximum costs supported through universal credit and the benefits system.

In a major pitch ahead of the budget, the Local Government Association (LGA), the main body for councils in England, has backed a significant increase in the cap in line with inflation. It is also demanding a major publicity campaign after the most recent figures showed 713,500 eligible parents from a total of 823,600 are not even claiming childcare costs.

“The UK has one of the most expensive childcare systems in the