Busy Bees Benefits wants the Government to raise the weekly allowance for working parents to £75. The current rate of £55 has not risen since 2006.
The 'Mind the Gap - Raise the Cap ' campaign aims to bridge the gap between the rising cost of childcare and the amount parents can exchange for childcare vouchers.
Busy Bees Benefits argues that as families are finding it increasingly difficult to meet living costs in the face of recession, inflation and a squeeze on pay and benefits, the Government should provide more support to working families.
Under the salary sacrifice scheme, childcare vouchers can be used to pay for registered childcare for children under 16, including nurseries, childminders, out-of-school clubs and holiday play schemes.
Parents exchange part of their salary – currently up to £55 a week - for childcare vouchers, which are not taxed and exempt from National Insurance.
Currently working parents can save up to £933 a year on the cost of a childcare place. If the limit were raised to £75 a week, working parents would gain more than £300 a year, increasing their annual savings t0 £1,200.
Businesses and employers would also gain from the increase because they would be eligible for more savings on employer National Insurance Contributions.
Employers offering childcare vouchers currently save up to £402 a year on National Insurance Contributions for each employee paying basic rate tax who uses the scheme. Under the proposal, savings for businesses would rise to just under £550 a year.
Busy Bees Group managing director John Woodward has set up an e-petition. The campaign would be eligible for a debate by MPs if more than 100,000 people sign up to back the campaign.
Mr Woodward wants the Chancellor to raise the childcare voucher allowance in the 2013 budget. ‘The cap allowance was set by the Government at £55 per week and this has not changed since 2006.
'As the UK's largest provider of childcare, serving more than 15,000 children, we understand the pressures on working parents.
‘We feel the Government should do much more for working parents to help with childcare costs, however we must be realistic. We want the campaign to receive the attention it deserves from the Government and for it to achieve its aim.
‘We think that £75 is an achievable target, which will make a real difference to working parents.’
- For more information about the campaign visit, www.busybeesbenefits.com and follow the campaign on the Busy Bees Benefits Facebook and Twitter pages.