13th May 2026
NI Childcare Subsidy Scheme supports over 28,000 children, with over £27 million paid to childcare providers.
Recent figures announced at the end of April by the Northern Ireland Minister for Education Paul Givan, in response to an NI Assembly question, reveal that over £27million in support for registered childcare has been paid through the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme.
The figures reveal that since the introduction of the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme in September 2024, the amount that had been paid to childcare providers up until 17 April 2026 was £27,467,065.
This subsidy has provided support for the childcare costs of 28,122 individual children over that period of time.
The information has been broken down by the constituency areas of Northern Ireland and reveal that, for the most part, the highest numbers of children and the highest monetary amounts of childcare support fall into those constituencies that cover the main arterial routes into Belfast, i.e. the M1, M2 and the A1 and A2
The exceptions to this are North and West Belfast, which along with Foyle have the three lowest numbers of children supported through the scheme and the three lowest amounts of financial support paid through the scheme. However, these three constituencies are also the three that have the highest number of claimants of Universal Credit and therefore it is likely that more families in these areas with registered childcare costs are receiving support through the Childcare Element of Universal Credit instead.
The two main forms of support for childcare costs are either the Childcare Element of Universal Credit or a combination of Tax-Free Childcare plus the NI Childcare Subsidy Scheme.
The support that best is dependent on individual household circumstances and income. The Family Benefits Advice Service can provide confidential and impartial advice and information on which is best in your particular circumstances and can be contacted by email at fbas@employersforchildcare.org