We too have had parents ask us for our registration number to enable them to claim Working Tax Credit. We actively encourage our parents to claim it, and the majority of parents are sincere and pay their fees on time. But there are occasions when parents claim the money and then either leave owing huge amounts of fees or ask for the number in order to claim and then never turn up.
We were told through the press that all claimants would be checked to ensure that the parents were using daycare. With more than 100 children attending our facility, we expected to be inundated with these checks.
However, in reality we have only had one request - and this was probably because the child increased his sessions and therefore the amount of fees payable.
With few, if any, checks in place, the present system is open to fraud. I know of no telephone helpline where childcarers can report suspected fraud or simply notify the authorities when a child leaves their care. This is taxpayers' money that is being claimed and used fraudulently.
Surely the Inland Revenue should be more accountable. It is paying money out to be used for childcare, but in some cases the money is being used for other things instead. The Inland Revenue should be investigating the fraudulent use of public money.
I'm quite sure that if the Inland Revenue asked childcarers to help and gave us a telephone number to ring regarding tax credit fraud, then this would be a step in the right direction. Or would it be too frightening for the Government to see how widespread a problem this is?
Helen Dew
Warrington, Cheshire
