Confusion - 15 free hours ELO for 2 year old w/ disability & new 15 free hours for working parents

[TheTwitcher11]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if someone would be able to help me.

I have 2 year old son who is currently getting 15 free hours of childcare under the Early Learning Offer due to qualifying/ being in receipt of Disability Living Allowance.

When I heard about the new 15 hours for 2 year olds (with working parents) - I assumed this would mean he would be able to attend full-time, for free, as these are essentially 2 different types of funding as we meet the 2 different criteria (eg son being disabled and me working 35 hrs per week) however, I was told by the Local Authority that he would still only be eligible for 15 hours and to not apply for the new code (for working parents of 2 year olds) and just stick with the ELO one already in place.

I've just gone onto my Tax-Free childcare account to 'reconfirm' we still qualify for the tax-free childcare and I can see my son has automatically been issued a new code under the 15 free hours for working parents.

Does anyone know if this means that he will be funded for 30 hours (2 diff types of funding) or whether they've just issued this new code as they will be doing away with the Early Learning Offer code?

I've tried to research this and cannot find anything and there doesnt appear to be a contact number on the GOV website for me to get some clarification.

Does anyone have any info on this they could share? Thank you :)

I believe the LA is correct. See this from Citizens Advice - “If you already get 15 funded hours of childcare from the government you can’t get these hours as well.”

I understand the new 15 hours comes into play for working families and I acknowledge what the citizens advice states, but it does not specifically state whether it no longer applies to families receiving DLA for the child so I am unsure if this just relates to families on income support or job seekers allowance etc., thinking ahead wouldn’t it be considered as discrimination if a child who is receiving 15 hours child care due to receiving DLA is then no longer given these hours, just because the universal 15 hours child care comes into play for working parents?

It applies to all existing funding.

eyalliance website confirms it is in addition https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/free-childcare-offers-what-parents-and-carers-need-know

That’s at odds with what other organisations are saying. And doesn’t actually say an extra 15 hours.

If it is the case it will open up challenges from those who meet 2 of the other eligibility criteria e.g. on UC with a low income and DC receive DLA.

This is exactly what I thought! I called to speak with my LA about it and they insisted that’s it’s one or the other now and they cannot be used in conjunction to equal 30 hours. Seems pretty unfair to me as my son was in receipt of the original 15 hours due to disability as he was already at a disadvantage and the provision was to enhance his communication & other life skills - now he’s just getting the ‘standard’ 15 hours. I hope they review this. Thanks everyone for your responses :)

Yes I believe on that particular web page it states “in addition …” , I believe the logical thought process would be if children are in receipt of DLA and granted the 15 hours why would that then be removed just because the working parents 15 hours is granted because there is and will be children in receipt of DLA and have working parents.

I don’t think it would affect UC and those on a low income because the new working parents element applies to working parents? So in that instance wouldn’t it just remain the same as 15 hours for UC and those on low income?

The ‘in addition’ on that page could relate to, in addition to the above list of people eligible for free 15 hours working families can also receive 15 hours free. Rather than an additional 15 hours on top of the existing 15 hours. It doesn’t state they will be extra hours.

My point about people on a low income on UC was that they are currently eligible for 15 hours regardless of whether their DC receive DLA or not. You are saying people working who will be eligible for 15 hours will receive 30 hours if their DC also gets DLA. So, I was pointing out that people who satisfy 2 of the current criteria don’t get 30 hours, so if the rules are changed for working families then others who satisfy 2 of eligibility criteria will challenge the decision as then they too should be eligible for 30 hours (e.g. 15 hours for being on a low income on UC and 15 hours for DLA being in receipt of DLA).

Yes I think the 15 hours eligible criteria at the moment is written as either receiving UC or low income or the child is receiving DLA in the section beneath.

Then the webpage mentioned previously states “in addition to this…” with regards to working parents element.

As I posted, the ‘in addition’ on that page could relate to, in addition to the above list of people eligible for free 15 hours, working families can also receive 15 hours free. Rather than an additional 15 hours on top of the existing 15 hours. It doesn’t state they will be extra hours.

As in A, B, C, D are eligible for 15 hours. In addition [to this list], working families will be eligible. Rather than an additional 15 hours.

On that basis then, obviously it is open to interpretation then as you read it one way and I read it another. So will ultimately be down to the government to clear, as I believe if it was the case then there would be no incentive for working parents to actually work.