Nursery World - Just 7 per cent of expected parents sign up for Tax-Free Childcare

Only a fraction of the numbers of parents forecast have registered for Tax-Free Childcare, meaning that Government will spend 90 per cent less on the scheme than planned.

The shortfall follows months of technical hitches and delays with the online registration system.

The Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) forecast, published this week alongside the Budget, reveals that just 30,000 parents had registered for Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) by October instead of the 415,000 expected.

Due to the 93 per cent fall in expected take-up of the scheme, the OBR's forecast shows there has been a 90 per cent reduction in expenditure allocated to Tax-Free Childcare.

Within its Autumn Budget 2017 policy measures document (pages 239/240), the OBR states, 'We have assumed a slower pace of take-up than we did in March.

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