More families benefit from tax-free childcare in Luton

Tax-free childcare helps working parents afford childcare. For every £8 a parent pays into their tax-free childcare account the Government adds an extra £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child, and £4,000 per disabled child, a year.

Ahead of last year's general election, Labour had pledged it would deliver enhanced access to affordable childcare once in office.

While more families across the UK now use tax-free childcare and funded childcare, charity Coram Family and Childcare warned many households still cannot access it.

It added all children should have access to early education.

HM Revenue and Customs figures show some 1,195 families used tax-free childcare for around 1,510 children in Luton in the year to March.

It was up from about 1,125 families the previous financial year.

This was also the case in Central Bedfordshire where some 6,295 families used tax-free childcare for around 8,405 children in Central Bedfordshire in the year to March.

It was up from about 5,525 families the previous financial year.

Across the UK, around 816,000 families used this type of childcare for some 1.1 million children in the year to March – up from 740,000 families and 966,000 children the previous year.

It was the highest figures since the scheme began in 2017-18.

However, monthly figures show the government top-up towards the scheme has declined from a record-high £62.3 million when the Labour party took office in July last year, to £55.3 million in March.

HMRC says this reflects the increased availability of the Department for Education's funded childcare scheme.

This scheme has been expanded, so those eligible will see 15 hours of funded childcare increase to 30 hours in September.

Both tax-free childcare and funded childcare schemes were introduced by the previous Conservative government to tackle expensive childcare.

In its election manifesto, Labour pledged to deliver enhanced access to childcare, to financially support working families and help more parents re-enter the labour market.

A DfE spokesperson said: "Giving every child the best start in life is central to our mission to break the unfair link between background and success – and that starts with improving access to high-quality early education.

"We know it’s often the most disadvantaged families who miss out on the support they need, and fixing this is a priority for the Government."

They said Labour's Plan for Change is "building an early years system that supports hundreds of thousands of working families".

"We are helping parents with the cost of childcare, supporting their choices around work, and ensuring more children start school ready to learn."