The loophole, which was revealed last week, would have affected only parents on low incomes who pay for their childcare weekly as they would have been ineligible for any extra financial help with their childcare costs during school holidays, when fees traditionally increase substantially.
The scheme, as it had been envisaged by the Government, was based on the average weekly childcare cost and any increase in these costs during holiday periods would not have counted unless they were at least four weeks long, thereby excluding all school breaks except the summer holidays.
However, the Inland Revenue has now acted to close the financial loophole before it opened. A spokeswoman said, 'The paymaster general has listened to the concerns raised by parents who are paying their childcare costs weekly. The system is going to be changed to enable them to take account of holiday costs.
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