We are grateful to Employee Benefits for this report:
More than eight in ten (82%) respondents will continue to provide childcare vouchers after the introduction of the government’s tax-free childcare scheme in autumn 2015, according to research by Jelf Employee Benefits. Its research, which surveyed more than 200 employers, found that just 3% will not continue to offer childcare vouchers post-autumn 2015, while 15% are not sure if they will do so. Steve Herbert, head of benefits strategy at Jelf Employee Benefits, said: “As more detail has become known regarding the government’s proposals for tax-free childcare, it has become increasingly apparent that some employees will be better off retaining their membership under an existing employer-supported childcare voucher scheme. So it’s encouraging that so many employers are now actively considering retaining such arrangements to help these employees access this vital government support towards the rising cost of childcare. Although the final outline for tax-free childcare is significantly more generous and wider reaching than originally proposed, it still leaves many families worse off or unable to access this vital support. It seems unlikely that any more improvements will be made to the tax-free childcare proposals before introduction next year, so I would therefore urge employers to retain their schemes for the moment, and perhaps even promote the benefits of joining while it is still possible to do so.”
Tax Free Childcare: research published on design considerations for implementation
10 October 2014
HMRC have published results of qualitative research exploring design considerations of the new Tax-Free Childcare scheme with parents and childcare providers.
The new scheme will be phased in from autumn 2015. The HMRC announcement says that the aim of this research was to gain insight into people’s circumstances and needs, to inform design considerations around eligibility criteria and the operational implementation of the new scheme.
Tax-Free Childcare draft guidance published
20 October 2014
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published draft guidance on Tax-Free Childcare for consultation.
HMRC has said that they are seeking views on this draft guidance to help ensure that it is easy to understand.
CIPP comment The Policy team will be reviewing this guidance in detail, and if appropriate will issue a survey in due course to gather members’ views.
Draft guidance published: Tax-Free Childcare Payments
24 October 2014
The HMRC team responsible for the policy and design of Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) payments have recently issued draft guidance on the subject.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced during his 2013 Budget speech that the Government would be introducing a new method of childcare support for working parents
CIPP Policy News Journal
08/04/2015, Page 172 of 521
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