Schedule 13 - Childcare and childcare vouchers
Finance Bill (except clauses 4, 5, 20, 28, 57 to 77, 86, 111 and 282 to 289, and schedules 1, 3, 11, 12, 21 and 37 to 39)
4:15 pm
Mr David Laws (Shadow Chief Secretary, Treasury; Yeovil, Liberal Democrat)
Good afternoon, Mr. McWilliam. I apologise for stepping over the line, or perhaps not, earlier in proceedings.
The hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk) raised a number of practical concerns expressed by tax practitioners about clause 78 and schedule 13. As he has clearly set those concerns out, there is no need for me to repeat them in detail. The principal concerns are about the extent of the relaxation of employers' responsibilities in respect of the management and funding of workplace nursery schemes. The hon. Gentleman indicated that there is concern about whether the relaxation goes far enough.
Will the Government consider relaxing the regulations further, so that employers do not have to be involved with schemes exceeding the £50 threshold? Is it not possible for the Government to be more generous and flexible, so that employers can involve local providers and schemes without having to micro-manage the issues? I am grateful that the Paymaster General is indicating that she may comment on the matter later.