The Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Rate) Regulations 2002

Entitlement to child care element of working tax credit

14.—(1) For the purposes of section 12 of the Act charges incurred for child care are charges paid by the person, or in the case of a joint claim, by either or both of the persons, for child care provided for any child for whom the person, or at least one of the persons, is responsible.

In these Regulations, such charges are called “relevant child care charges”.

(2) “Child care” means care provided for a child—

(a) in England and Wales—

(i) by persons registered under Part 10A of the Children Act 1989(1);

(ii) in schools or establishments which are exempted from registration under Part 10A of the Children Act 1989 by virtue of paragraph 1 or 2 of Schedule 9A(2) to that Act;

(iii) in respect of any period between his eighth birthday and the day preceding the first Tuesday in September following his twelfth birthday, where the care is provided out of school hours, by a school on school premises or by a local authority; or

(iv) by a child care provider approved by an accredited organisation within the meaning given by regulation 4 of the Tax Credit (New Category of Child Care Provider) Regulations 1999(3);

(b) in Scotland—

(i) by a person in circumstances where the care service provided by him consists of child minding or of day care of children within the meaning of section 2 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001(4) and is registered under Part 1 of that Act; or

(ii) by a local authority in circumstances where the care service provided by the local authority consists of child minding or of day care of children within the meaning of section 2 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 and is registered under Part 2 of that Act;

(c) in Northern Ireland—

(i) by persons registered under Part XI of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(5); or

(ii) by institutions and establishments exempt from registration under that Part by virtue of Article 121 of that Order; or

(d) in any part of the United Kingdom—

(i) by a child care provider approved by an accredited organisation within the meaning given by regulation 4 of the Tax Credit (New Category of Child Care Provider) Regulations 2002(6); or

(ii) by a child care provider approved in accordance with a scheme made by the appropriate national authority under section 12(5) of the Act.

(3) For the purposes of this regulation a person is a child until the last day of the week in which falls the 1st September following that child’s fifteenth birthday (or sixteenth birthday if the child is disabled).

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3) a child is disabled where—

(a) a disability living allowance is payable in respect of that child, or has ceased to be payable solely because he is a patient;

(b) the child is registered as blind in a register compiled by a local authority under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948(7) (welfare services) or, in Scotland, has been certified as blind and in consequence is registered as blind in a register maintained by or on behalf of a local authority in Scotland, or, in Northern Ireland has been certified as blind and in consequence is registered as blind in a register maintained by or on behalf of a Health and Social Services Board; or

(c) the child ceased to be registered as blind in such a register within the 28 weeks immediately preceding the date of claim.

(5) Charges paid in respect of the child’s compulsory education or charges paid by a person to a partner or by a partner to the person in respect of any child for whom either or any of them is responsible are not relevant child care charges.

(6) Where regulation 15(4) (agreement for the provision of future child care) applies—

(a) the words “charges paid” in paragraph (1) include charges which will be incurred, and

(b) the words “child care provided” in paragraph (1) include care which will be provided.

(7) Where regulation 13(3) applies, the reference in paragraph (1) to a child for whom the person, or at least one of the persons, is responsible does not include any child born or child adopted or surrogate child acquired during a period of absence from employment in connection with childbirth or adoption within regulation 5.

(8) Relevant child care charges are calculated on a weekly basis in accordance with regulation 15.

(1)

Part 10A of the Children Act 1989 was inserted by section 79 of the Care Standards Act 2000 (c. 14).

(2)

Schedule 9A to the Children Act 1989 (c. 41) was inserted by Schedule 3 to the Care Standards Act 2000.

(3)

S.I. 1999/3110.

(4)

2001 asp 8.

(5)

S.I. 1995/755 (N.I. 2).

(6)

S.I. 2002/1417.

(7)

1948 c. 29; section 29 was amended by the National Assistance (Amendment) Act 1959 (c. 30), section 1(2); the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960 (c. 61), sections 113(1) and 114 of and Schedule 4 to the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (c. 49), section 95(2) and Schedule 9 Part 1; the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), sections 195(6), 272(1), Schedule 23 paragraph 2 and Schedule 30; the Employment and Training Act 1973 (c. 50), section 14(1) and Schedule 3 paragraph 3; the National Health Service Act 1977 (c. 49), section 129 and Schedule 15 paragraph 6; the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983 (c. 41), section 30 and Schedule 10 Part I; the Children Act 1989 (c. 41) section 108(5) and Schedule 13 paragraph 11(2); and the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19), section 44(7).