Tax barrier to home carers

Childminders wanting to join the Government's 'home carer' scheme will be expected to give up their self-employed status and become employees of the parents whose children they care for, the Inland Revenue said last week, while parents who let them retain their self-employed status may face financial penalties for doing so. The move looks certain to further put off childminders from applying to join the scheme, which has had a very low take-up since its introduction last month. Ofsted said that in England only around 20 childminders have been accepted as home carers to date.