Childcare initiatives deliver over £2million savings for Northern Ireland parents
Date published:
Education Minister Paul Givan has welcomed that the new Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) has saved parents almost £1million on their September childcare bills.
Added to the contribution from Tax Free Childcare, the total saving to parents in Northern Ireland rises to over £2million.
The Minister said: “I announced my intention in May 2024 to have the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme operational by September this year and I have delivered on this ambitious commitment. I am delighted that in the short time the scheme has been operational, close to 13,000 children and 1,500 childcare providers have now registered for the scheme."
In its first month of operation, the scheme saw 12,630 children registered and approved to benefit from the subsidy, which aims to alleviate financial pressure on families and help more parents, particularly women, stay in or return to work. Designed for working parents, with children below primary school age, the NICSS builds on Tax-Free Childcare eligibility targeting families who typically face the highest childcare costs.
The Minister continued “When I took up post as Education Minister, I pledged as a priority to make childcare more affordable for working families. This scheme is now delivering for those hard-working families across Northern Ireland and they are starting to feel the direct benefit in their pockets. This scheme is an outstanding success and in September alone has saved parents almost £1m on their childcare bills, with an additional estimated £1.1m in savings through Tax-Free Childcare.
"The combined effect of both these schemes is that Northern Ireland working parents have saved over £2m in September. I commend the exceptional level of commitment and cooperation shown by the sector to support the rollout in a very short period of time so that families would feel the benefit as quickly as possible.”
Commenting on continuing engagement with the sector, the Minister added: “I have spoken directly to providers delivering the scheme and to the parents using and benefiting from it and it has been extremely encouraging to hear the real difference the scheme is making to family life for local families."
In conclusion, the Minister said: "Registration for the Childcare Subsidy Scheme remains open and I encourage anyone who is eligible and has not yet signed up, to do so. For my part I will continue to work to deliver affordable childcare for parents throughout Northern Ireland."
Notes to editors:
- The Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme is delivered by the Early Years Organisation on behalf of the Department of Education. Childcare providers and parents can register for the Scheme at NICSS — Early Years - the organisation for young children (early-years.org)
- The Scheme is focused on working parents, based on Tax Free Childcare (TFC) eligibility with children below primary school age. These tend to be the highest users of childcare and therefore incur the greatest costs. The scheme provides a 15% subsidy towards parents’ bills (paid directly to providers to reduce upfront costs). The parent can then claim 20% TFC on the remaining bill. You must also have a TFC account for your child. It does not apply to unregistered or informal childcare arrangements.
- It is a decision for eligible childcare providers to decide whether or not they wish to offer the subsidy to their parents. The subsidy scheme is not mandatory for providers, therefore not all providers may decide to offer the subsidy.
- The subsidy provided to parents can be claimed back by providers directly from the scheme administrator. This ensures that the provider can offer the subsidy without any financial loss.
- The data on the scheme is provisional at this stage and subject to revision.
- The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) are updated regularly, and can be accessed at Frequently Asked Questions on the Early Learning and Childcare Measures 2024-25 | Department of Education (education-ni.gov.uk)
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