Other financial support

In addition to the early years funding for 2, 3 4 year olds there are a number of other government support packages to help families towards the cost of childcare:

• Tax Free Childcare (TFC) – an online payment account, topped up by the Government, which parents use solely to pay their childcare costs. For every £8 that families pay in, the Government will make a top-up payment of £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year (or £4,000 for disabled children).
• Universal Credit UC) – families in receipt of universal credit can claim up to 85% of their childcare care costs back up to a up to a maximum of £646 per month for one child in childcare or up to £1108 with two or more children
• Working Tax Credit (WTC) – families can get up to 70% of their childcare costs covered up to a maximum of £122.50 per week for one child in childcare, or £210 for two or more children. This is slowly being phased out and replaced with universal credit, so it will depend which area a family lives in as to whether they are eligible.