Falling through the net

Thousands of parents are benefiting from the childcare element of the new Working Tax Credit. It's worth up to £140 a week, but if you're training and not actually in paid work, you won't qualify.

Good childcare is essential for parents trying to hold down a job.

But a Working Lunch viewer from Cornwall has been trying, without success, to get the childcare element of Working Tax Credit.

Alison McColville lives in Falmouth. Her husband works, but Alison has until now been a stay-at-home Mum, caring for their two and half year old daughter.

Alison now wants to retrain, taking a horticulture course for three and a half days a week.

"I was told that because I was only studying and not working then I couldn't qualify (for the childcare element of the tax credit) unless I did another 16 hours work a week.

Even then that wouldn't necessarily qualify me to have the childcare when I was on the course."

She thinks this is a dreadful situation which will prevent her from going back to work for years. The exact opposite of what the government has been trying to achieve.

Alison: "It's dreadful."

"It means I can't go back to work...I can't re-train until my children are grown up."

Catastrophe for nurses

Student nurses are facing the same problem.

The average age for a student nurse is 29 and over 40% of them have families to look after. Yet since they're not technically employed, they can't get the childcare help.

"We'd like to see some support," says Verity Lewis from the Royal College of Nursing.

"Many student nurses have to leave before they finish their training because they can't afford to carry on - it's a catastrophe. They desperately need help."

The Inland Revenue says the assistance is designed to help people who are in work. So whilst you can still train, you have to do a minimum of 16 hours work a week before you can get any help.

But for many, childcare help would make the move from the home back into the workplace easier and faster.