DWP Universal Credit parents are 'prisoners' in part-time jobs as money is frozen for six years

A damning report today says the DWP should raise the £646 monthly cap on childcare payments under Universal Credit - and prevent poor parents from having to hoard money - front

Childcare payments to working benefit claimants have been capped at £646 a month since 2016 (stock photo) (

Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Parents on Universal Credit are being trapped in part-time jobs as they are 'prisoners to the high cost of childcare', MPs have warned.

A damning report today criticizes the decision to cap childcare payments to working benefit claimants at £646 a month since 2016, despite soaring inflation.

That only covers about 27 hours a week, the Commons Work and Pensions Committee said.

MPs from all parties have called for the £646 cap to be raised to 'reflect the true cost of childcare in 2022' and then raised each year.

They also called for a solution that means people will no longer have to pay the full cost up front and claim it later.

MPs say it has created an 'insurmountable obstacle to work' as parents 'have a choice between going into debt or refusing to work'.

Labour Chairman Sir Stephen Timms said: 'A reassessment of the cap on eligible childcare costs is clearly long overdue.

MPs have called for a solution that means people will no longer have to pay the full cost up front and claim it later (stock photo) (

Picture:

Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“And removing the need for parents to pay childcare costs before receiving benefits is essential if families are to have access to affordable, good-quality childcare.

"This is essential not only to help parents increase their working hours, but also for the transformative impact it can have on children's lives."

The committee raised issues with the child care system in 2018, but many remain unresolved, according to the report.

About 120,000 parents in