Government's "new" great childcare plan....

[duende]

I know there was a thread about it here a few weeks ago, but now a bit more detail is available:

parents to get 20% of childcare cost back

Now, I can't help but see it as a bit of a con. First of all, annoyed by how they sell it - our childcare bill is closer to 10-12k, so £1200 per year is NOT 20%.
Also, at the moment, both me and DP get the full amount available in childcare vouchers, which they will abolish. I get £243 per month, DP gets £220, and I am a higher tax payer.
Surely we will not be better off with this great new deal they have come up with?

Also, this will only be available to families where both parents work, current childcare voucher scheme is not restricted this way.

Am I missing something here, or are they about to screw people over again whilst dressing it as a positive move??

oh fuck this will crucify DH and I, this will REALLY hurt our cash flow, in fact this will put me out of work I think. Is there more information out there?

I hate the condems. I HATE Georgie Osbourne.

I'm sure it's a sneaky way for them to screw over more people.

Is the £6 figure per child, or per family?

What about single parents?

So is this instead of the £243 amount I currently get?

So if one parent loses their job then they also lose their childcare vouchers. What about parents who are students, trying to better themselves.

once again i suspect this will hit WOMEN more than men, like ALL their cost saving efforts

Lets face it, they haven't got a bloody clue how most ordinary families cope and survive

I can't believe they're doing this. Will dismantle all the voucher scheme framework, put people out of work and cause employers endless work unravelling it - plus increasing the employers costs as currently they make a saving too.

It won't affect me personally as we only have one dc in after school care and haven't bothered claiming vouchers for her anymore as just a small amount. When I went back to work after dd3 it was only the savings dh and I made through the scheme that made working financially advantageous at that point at all.

Utter, utter bastards!

anyone have any idea what will happen in scotland? will we keep vouchers?

this is stupid. I pay £4 an hour to a CM and 20% of my yearly cost is way over £1200. THis would make us WORSE off (if we lived in England). And £4 an hour is not a high rate!

Sone figures - I've just calculated using the calculator on the HRMC site. Assuming that dh and I were paying what the government think is 'average' nursery fees of £6000/52 = £115.38 per week (my fees for dd3 -in the North - were more like £190 a week for full time). Vouchers if claimed by both of us and with him being a higher rate earner would give us a benefit of £2449 per annum. My benefit alone is nearly £1000. An in return for taking this away the Tories think £100 a month will do?

Despicable!

Is it up to 20% per child?

Do the gov ever consult working families about this sort of stuff.

I just told Dh and the colour drained from his face, he looked really scared.

Thanks tory scum and useless fucking lib dems, I will be significantly might lose my house worse off.

northern can you link to the HRMC site pplease?

Just notoiced I made an error in the income figure I typed - but even with that corrected the benefit to a family like us would still be over £2000 per annum.

here

It is per household, regardless of how many children in childcare you have, I believe.

"Sources across Whitehall were said to be "jubilant" a deal had been struck, with one telling BBC Newsnight the four month negotiations had been a "monumental battle"."

They truly are a disgusting lot :(

Also some brief info here. Bearing in mind this benefit is available only to dual working households. The same household taking maximum vouchers would save at least £1772. Compared to £1200.

I would love to know where we can get full time childcare for £500 a month!

Monumental battle between those pointing out this is a vote losing bastard of an idea and those who are terminally stupid one assumes.

northernlurker thanks for working out he difference. Even though it's depressing.

rumbelina, if you find it, let me know. I'm sure those with two in paid childcare would love to know, too.

So, how long before we can vote them out...?

Two years.

You can comment on that BBC article I have done so with a link to this thread because it reads a bit like Allegra Sutton has swallowed the press release whole and they need to see there are other viewpoints!

Any idea if this replaces the childcare element of tax credits too? Why can't they work it out like housing benefit, where they base it on the cheapest average rental costs in the area, I know it said in the news recently that Wimbledon nursery costs are something like £14,000 a year so their estimate of £6000 doesn't even touch that!

The cheapest childcare I've ever heard of was £3.50 per hour, and thats £7280 a year. Has anyone else ever seen any cheaper? Where on earth have the government got their figures from?

I am confused. This is advantagous for:

• People who are self employed and couldn't get vouchers

• Those who didn't earn enough to get vouchers without compromising their NI contribution records

• Single parents who could only get 1 parent's worth of vouchers

But for everyone else it looks like a cut. Looking here, if you both work and claim the maximum possible, even those with the lowest savings (being 2 50% tax payers) are disadvantaged. If only one of you worked then you lose it all.

I am surprised that it has a cost and isn't a saving on the existing set up.

duende this is how long before we can vote them out

When both DC's were in nursery 4 days a week it was approx £1,100 a month.

Does it mention how you can claim the money back? Is it via the tax system? If so then how are they going to know whether both parents work, bearing in mind the basis of independent taxation.

How long will it be before they implement this? When they get voted out, how long will it be before somthing like this gets turned around.

I feel sick. I honestly feel really sick.

I think the article said we'll learn more about it tomorrow?