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Concerns over tax credit fraud

Scottish nursery owners have warned that changes to the application process brought in when the new Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit were introduced in April have left the system wide open to abuse by parents. Leslie Beber, who owns Little Acorns Nursery in Edinburgh, said last week she had experienced 'a major upsurge' in parents ringing her for registration details and reserving places at the nursery, then not taking them up.

Leslie Beber, who owns Little Acorns Nursery in Edinburgh, said last week she had experienced 'a major upsurge' in parents ringing her for registration details and reserving places at the nursery, then not taking them up.

Unlike the old system, nurseries have no way of knowing if parents are claiming the childcare element of the tax credit because the claim form no longer requires the setting to confirm that the child is attending sessions. The onus is now on parents to complete the details on the form, including the name of the approved childcare provider, their registration number and the registering body.

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