Calculation of Childcare costs

I am helping a client regarding childcare costs in UC. She pays the same amount - £733.33 per calendar month for childcare for one child - client works full time. When we did a benefit check it seems that DWP re underpaying her in respect of Childcare. 85% of £733.33 amounts to £623.33 which is less than the maximum that can be paid. DWP are only paying £581.78. Client’s current claim started on 3 May 2019. The client wrote to DWP via her journal questioning their calculation and got the following response:

“Your first assessment period is from 3/5/2019 - 02/06/19. The period covered by your childcare payment is from 29/04 - 29/05/2019. This gives us a daily rate of £23.66. This accumulates to £638.71 in the relevant AP. 85% is £542.90.

Your second assessment period is from 03/06/2019 - 02/07/2019. The period covered by your childcare payment is from 01/06/2019 - 30/06/2019. This gives us a daily rate of £24.44. This accumulates to £684.44 in the relevant AP. 85% is £581.78”.

Does anyone know whether DWP have calculated this correctly as it does not seem right to me? I can understand why they calculated the first AP the way they have done, but cannot understand why they have calculated it in this way for the 2nd AP as the client will always be out of pocket.

Thank you

The second invoice straddles the first two APs. The bulk of it is for the second AP (i.e. the period from 03.06.19 to 30.06.19) but it also covers the last few days of the first AP (i.e. 01.06.19 & 02.06.19).

The case manager has taken the invoice into account insofar as it relates to the second AP but they have missed out those first two days which fell in the first AP - so they have paid for 28 days only.

This is wrong because Reg 34A(1)(b) of the UC Regs 2013 provides that costs are also attributable to an AP if they were paid in respect of a childcare liability in the previous AP - so 85% of the full invoice should have been paid.

Really the case manager is needlessly making a job for themselves by insisting on splitting these bills between the APs when it doesn’t make any difference.

Elliot

Many thanks for your reply. That is really helpful, thank you

Stewart