Working parents who receive Universal Credit are set to receive a 'big boost' to the family finances this year, as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) increases the amount of help that parents get with the eye-watering costs of childcare - with some receiving as much as £20,872 per year.
With this support package, the government is hoping to encourage more parents back into the workforce, or to work more hours, by removing some of the prohibitive costs of childcare.
As part of this, from this week, parents on Universal Credit can claim up to £1,015 a month for their first child's care, an increase of £65, and £1,739 a month if they have two children or more, an increase of £109.
Childcare costs have grown by as much as 60 per cent in the last decade, more than twice the rate of inflation of other goods and services.
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