Subsidised childcare costs on trial in London
Parents in five London boroughs are to have 100 per cent of their childcare paid for as part of a new pilot programme.
The Childcare Affordability Programme (CAP) is launching four pilots to explore which methods of childcare best help parents find long-term employment in the capital. The two-year schemes will run in five as yet unnamed London boroughs from April.
The London Development Agency (LDA), which has spearheaded the CAP since 2005, will run two of the pilots and the other two will be led by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The first trial will see around 500 families having 100 per cent of their childcare costs paid by HMRC, while in the second, HMRC will provide some degree of subsidy to all parents of disabled or SEN children.
Denise Burke, head of childcare at the LDA, said, 'These pilots look at ways to access the childcare element of tax credits differently, like testing where we're best supporting parents with children who have special educational needs and disabilities.'
The trials will operate under the banner of the national End Child Poverty campaign. 'The evidence from these pilots will be fed into the next Comprehensive Spending Review in 2011 and into systems working towards eradicating child poverty by 2020,' said Ms Burke.
The LDA-run pilots will be delivered differently to the original Phase 1 CAP pilots, which continue until December this year.
Ms Burke said, 'One pilot is an outcome-based commissioning model. We will say to the five boroughs, "here is the funding, we need you to produce x amount of people who have found sustained employment". It allows the boroughs to make decisions at a very local level.'
The final pilot examines how intensive support through benefits and job-hunting can help parents find sustained work.
'Accessing tax credits can be like a maze, so it helps if you have someone walking you through it,' said Ms Burke.
