2 year old funding and universal credit

[Ellesiebean]

Hi, I’ve googled a lot but can’t seem to find an answer to my question. I’m a single mum and receive universal credit. I work 24 hours a week in the NHS and my son is eligible for 15 hours of nursery for free now he is 2.

my question is - do these free hours come out of my universal credit award? He’s been going to nursery for 20 hours a week since he was 1 and usually I upload proof of childcare costs and that’s what my UC is based on. If my childcare is cheaper will it just come out of UC? If that’s the case, what’s the point of offering the free hours?

sorry if I’m asking a really stupid question!

No the 15 hours is a separate scheme and it's free and not deducted from your UC

You get a childcare payment included in your UC. This is based on what your childcare costs are so if they reduce your uc will reduce.

For why they offer this funding - it’s supposed to be for early years education. So not ever child that receives the funding will also have parents that work and have their children in paid child care at the same time.

You need to go onto www.childcarechoices.gov.uk (or google 15 hours funding) which is a government website which you have to sign up to a government gateway and fill in the information.
If you are eligible they will give you a code to give to your childcare provider, then I believe any hours over the 15 you will be invoiced for which you would then pay and upload to UC as normal.
You also have to reconfirm that nothing has changed every three months to keep the free hours.

You claim the Uc childcare element for what you have to pay for nursery after the 15 free term time hours have been paid for.

You’ll carry on the same. Childcare costs will be cheaper so you will get 85% back on a lower amount. You won’t be much better off unless your childcare bill is over maximum allowed amount already.