§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families are receiving the child care element of working tax credit; what the cost has been to date; and what proportion of families with children of eligible age this represents. [161527]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 17 March 2004]: The number of families benefiting from the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit, and their average help with childcare costs through this element, appear in Table 4.4 of each issue of "Child and Working Tax Credits. Quarterly Statistics."
Each issue of this publication appears on the Inland Revenue web site, at www.inlandrevenue.aov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm.
The childcare element is available to single parents working for at least 16 hours per week, and to couples both working for at least 16 hours per week or where one works for at least 16 hours per week and the other is incapacitated, or a hospital inpatient or is in prison. The 678W element covers eligible childcare costs incurred on children up to 1 September 2004 following their 15th birthday (16th if disabled).
Child benefit records indicate that at December 2003 there were 6.4 million families with at least one child whose 15th birthday was due to fall after 1 September 2004.