Asked
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Universal Credit minimum income threshold on trends in the level of childminder (a) recruitment and (b) retention, in the context of recent changes to free childcare allowances.
Reply
There is no plan to assess the potential impact of the Minimum Income Floor specifically for self-employed childminders on Universal Credit. The department does not systematically collect data about the sector self-employed customers work in. Universal Credit treats all forms and sectors of self-employment in the same way, focusing on the level of the customer’s earnings rather than the sector. There is no link between the sector that a customer works in and the level of their Minimum Income Floor.