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By Shannon Pite

Changes to the support families on Universal Credit receive to help them meet the cost of childcare and early education will come into effect on Wednesday 28 June, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed.

The changes will see the amount that parents and carer on Universal Credit can claim back for their childcare and early education costs up to £951 per month for one child and £1,630 for two or more children, up from £646 for one child or £1,108 for two or more children – a 47% increase.

The government has also confirmed that it will help eligible parents and carers cover the costs for the first month’s childcare and early education costs when they enter work or significantly increase their hours, and that those families will also receive up to 85% of their costs back before their next month’s bills are due, meaning they should have money to pay one month in advance going forward.

Both policies were originally announced at this year’s Spring Budget.

Commenting, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said:

“These changes will help thousands of parents progress their career without compromising the quality of the care that their children receive.

“By helping more parents to re-enter and progress in work, we will be able to cut inactivity and help grow the economy.”

However, shadow education secretary Helen Hayes criticised the government for “piling pressure on a broken system”.