3. Statement by the Minister for Children and Social Care: The Childcare Funding (Wales) Bill

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:33 pm on 17 April 2018.

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Photo of Julie Morgan Julie Morgan Labour 3:33, 17 April 2018

I know we will. So, it's good that we're doing this, which, as the Minister said, is a specifically targeted offer to working parents. And I'd just like to say how pleased I am that it is covering the school holidays, because I think, as any parent here will know, for a working parent, the school holidays are a nightmare. And so having this to actually cover the school holidays I think is very good, and I think it makes it a generous offer.

I just wanted to make some points about the administration. I think it's absolutely sensible to use HMRC, and I certainly support that going ahead, but I am concerned about how flexible HMRC can be. Thinking of parents who change jobs frequently, just about manage, and sometimes have to have more than one job in order to manage the households, and thinking about that sort of family, I would like the Minister to tell us how we would be able to cope with rapidly changing circumstances. And the other issue, of course, is parents who are in self-employment, where the income could be different every week, virtually. So, I wondered if this had been covered in thinking about how HMRC would actually administer the scheme.