The work and pensions committee report says that ‘upfront costs for childcare are not only a disincentive to work: for some Universal Credit claimants they will either make working unaffordable, or force them to take on debt in order to do so.’
Under Universal Credit, parents have to pay the costs of childcare themselves and submit receipts for reimbursement – which they won’t receive until their next monthly payment, after the childcare has been provided.
Save the Children’s Steven McIntosh said that these large upfront costs can be up to £1,000 when taking into account deposit and advance payments. ‘The idea that families who have spent time out of the workforce have £1,000 lying around to pay those costs up front is patently absurd,’ he said.
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