Explanatory note

These Regulations provide for the administration of childcare accounts and top-up payments made under the Childcare Payments Act 2014 (c. 28) (“the Act”) and for other procedural matters in relation to the childcare payments scheme.

Regulations 1 and 2 provide for citation, commencement and interpretation.

Regulation 3 prescribes registered or approved childcare for the purposes of the scheme. It includes specific provisions for such childcare in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and for overseas childcare provided by accredited organisations. It also prescribes that care provided by parents themselves, close relatives or foster parents is not registered or approved childcare.

Regulations 4 and 5 provide for entitlement periods, including the normal length of an entitlement period and when a period begins and ends. The regulation also specifies when the length of the period can be varied and provides that the relevant maximum for qualifying payments under the scheme can be varied, where the length of the period has been varied.

Regulations 6 and 7 provide for declarations of eligibility. They specify the time for making a declaration and when it will be determined as valid by HMRC. In cases of declarations made late, the relevant maximum may be varied.

Regulations 8 to 10 provide for circumstances where the eligible person under the scheme is unable to act and another person may be appointed to act on their behalf in relation to the opening and running of a childcare account. An account-holder may appoint another person to act on their behalf.

Regulation 11 provides for the form and procedure for opening a childcare account, including the information required to be provided to HMRC.

Regulations 12 to 16 provide for various circumstances in which the relevant maximum for an entitlement period may be varied. These include where a child ceases to be a qualifying child and cases where there has been delay in payment of an allowance affecting eligibility, or a serious technical failure affecting childcare account payments.

Regulation 17 prescribes the circumstances where a compensatory payment under section 62 of the Act may be made, many of which are similar to those in which a relevant maximum may be varied, giving some measure of choice to the account-holder who has been disadvantaged.

Regulation 18 provides for circumstances where HMRC may make an account restriction order, whose effect is to restrict payments into or from a childcare account.

Regulation 19 provides the circumstances in which a childcare account must be closed. It also provides how funds remaining in an account should be repaid on closure.

Regulation 20 provides for information notices. It specifies to whom such notices may be sent, what information may be required by the notice and the minimum time the addressee has to reply.

Regulation 21 defines “relevant benefit” for the purposes of a disqualification order made under section 49 of the Act.

Regulation 22 provides that applications to open an account and declarations of eligibility must be sent to HMRC electronically, except in specified circumstances, and that an account provider must make payments in respect of qualifying childcare electronically.

A full Impact Assessment of the effect that the childcare payments scheme will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the gov.uk website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-free-childcare-impact-assessment. It remains an accurate summary of the impacts that apply to this instrument.