Benefits and Funding for Childcare

Entitled to is a site that can help make sure you get what benefits and tax credits your are entitled to. Just use the simple calculator to work out how much you could claim.

Benefits adviser - Get benefit advice, for you/your family or for someone else. Simply answer questions anonymously online about your savings, income and outgoings.

The Money Advice Service from the UK’s Consumer Financial Education Body, established by the Financial Services Authority. 'When it comes to your money, our impartial information and tools can help you work out what’s right for you.' FSA A Parents Guide to Money

The FSA booklet called 'A Parents Guide to Money' is available for FREE! The Guide gives helpful advice and information on budgeting, entitlements, work options and more. For your free copy, email the Family Information Service and we will post it direct to your door.

Cheshire East Council's Benefits Service (PDF, 143KB) offers a free, confidential advice service in person, by telephone or electronically and is available to any local resident who needs help and support. Call them on 0300 123 5013 or email the benefits service.

All pregnant women and families with children are entitled to -

Child Benefit - A weekly tax-free payment to a parent/carer for every child they have responsibility for - £20.30 a week for the eldest child and £13.40 for every child thereafter. These rates will stay the same until 2013. The Child Benefit Helpline can be contacted on 0845 302 1444.

Ways of Paying For Childcare

The Daycare Trust have an online Paying for Childcare guide, for all parents, including working parents, parents who are studying and families with disabilities.

Listed below are ways of paying for childcare:

Childcare Vouchers

Childcare Vouchers are a means of paying for childcare – they are one of the ways in which an employer can help employees with childcare costs and are sometimes known as Employer Supported Childcare. Download the Childcare Vouchers factsheet (PDF, 470KB)

Are you a High/Additional rate tax payer? From 6th April 2011, the Government changed childcare voucher legislation for higher rate-tax payers. Under the new rules, higher rate taxpayers will only be eligible to receive £28 per week in childcare vouchers. Basic rate taxpayers will still be eligible to receive the maximum allowance of £55 per week.

The changes will only affect people joining a Childcare Voucher scheme on or after 6 April 2011. Employees (high / additional rate tax payers) who join the scheme before that date will not be subject to these changes and will continue to benefit from the previous higher savings thresholds.

If you or your partner are employed by Cheshire East Council, more information about the Childcare Voucher scheme for employees can be find on the centranet under HR and Staff Benefits.

Tax Credits

Tax Credits are designed to top up wages for those on low income and help with childcare costs. This factsheet is designed to help you understand more about Tax Credits. Download the Tax Credits factsheet (PDF, 484KB)

There are 2 websites that can help you estimate the Tax Credits that your household might be entitled to:

Changes in Parents Entitlements to Tax Credits - The Budget 2010 made some changes to parents entitlements to Tax Credits. The main headlines for families are:

Child Tax Credit - the child element of child tax credit increased by £150 above indexation in April 2011 and £60 above indexation in April 2012
Tax credits eligibility reduced for some families earning over £25k from 2012/13* and for some families earning over £50k in 2011/12. The baby element of the Child Tax Credit has been removed from April 2011.
Reduction of the income disregard to £10,000 from £25,000
Withdrawal rates increased to 41% from 2011/12 – so for every pound earned over the threshold, 41p of tax credit will be withdrawn.

To find out if this this effects you, Mumsnet and the TUC have produced a Tax Credit Changes Calculator. This calculator provides a rough estimate of how the Government’s Tax Credit changes will affect different types of families. It shows approximate Tax Credit awards for different types of households in 2012/13 both before and after the Government’s changes and cuts.

The Tax Credit Overpayment - A guide (PDF, 613KB) document is for if you have been told that you have a tax credit overpayment that you have to pay back. You may not be sure if you even have an overpayment. You may just have noticed a worrying drop in the amount of payments you are getting. This guide show you how to find out if the reduction is because you have an overpayment.

If your employer offers you childcare vouchers to help with your childcare costs it may affect the amount of tax credits you can get. This Childcare vouchers and tax credits - better off calculator can help you decide whether - overall - you would be better off taking the childcare vouchers or not.

Free Early Education Entitlement (previously known as the Nursery Education Grant)

For more information about the Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) , please go to our FEEE pages

Other Useful Information

Training and Learning - You may be able to get help with your childcare costs while in learning or training, depending on the type of course and your circumstances. Before starting a course check with the tutor, or college's student services department to see what financial help you are entitled to. Next Step can help you find the right kind of help. The Lifelong Learning Team at Cheshire East Council also have information on what financial support post-16 year olds maybe entitled too.
Credit Unions are financial co-operatives owned and controlled by their members. They offer savings and great value loans plus they are local, ethical and know what their members want. Many credit unions now offer a range of services including a current account, benefits direct, ISA s and Child Trust Funds.
Child Support Agency – The Child Support Agency's role is to make sure that parents who live apart from their children contribute financially to their upkeep by paying child maintenance. Child Maintenance Options is another site to support parents make maintenance options and to make arrangements to best suit their needs.
Healthy Start – Families on certain benefits can get free milk, fruit, vegetables and vitamins.
Sure Start Maternity Grant - If you're on a low income, the Sure Start Maternity Grant is a one-off payment to help towards costs of a new baby. The grant comes from the Social Fund and you don't have to repay it.
You may be entitled to more Housing and Council Tax Benefit if you pay the extra cost of childcare. More information on this can be found on the Claiming Benefits section of the Cheshire East Council website.