HC Deb 20 April 1998 vol 310 cc398-9W
Mrs. Fyfe

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a description of the way childcare for tax credits will operate, including the operation of the fast path to help new employees with childcare costs before their first payment of wage or salary is received; and if he will ensure all benefits agencies and jobcentres are made aware of this provision. [38235]

Dawn Primarolo

[holding answer 7 April 1998]: The childcare tax credit is an integral part of the "Working Families Tax Credit". An important priority for the WFTC will be to ensure that it gets to recipients efficiently and quickly. The design of the WFTC—whether paid through employers or direct from the Inland Revenue—will aim to deliver the tax credit to individuals reliably and on time. Work is continuing on the administrative arrangements and the Inland Revenue is consulting representatives of employer and other appropriate organisations on the details of how the WFTC will be paid through the wage packet. We aim to make the new literature for WFTC claimants widely available, and to enable both Benefits Agency and Employment Service staff to help clients with the WFTC.