From September 2025, working parents of children under the age of five will be entitled to 30 hours of government-funded childcare a week.

Currently, 15 hours of government-funded childcare is available for all children from the age of nine months. 30 hours of government-funded childcare is available for children aged three to four, if parents are working.

What are funded childcare hours? 

Funded childcare hours are government-subsidised hours of childcare for parents of young children. They’re available to be used in registered childcare settings. The UK government provides these hours to support families by providing their children with early years education in a structured environment.

How do I qualify for these hours?

To qualify, you need to be working or starting a new job, on sick or annual leave, or on shared parental, maternity, paternity or adoption leave. The amount you earn must be at or more than the value of the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average.

You don’t qualify if your adjusted net income is over £100,000 a year. Adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any Personal Allowances and certain tax reliefs are deducted such as, trading losses, donations to charities through Gift Aid and pension contributions.

If you’ve been self-employed for less than 12 months and you earn less, you may still qualify. Income that doesn’t count includes dividends, interest, income from property investments or pension payments.

You apply via the Government website to receive your childcare code, which you need to give to your registered provider. When you have your account set up and the code is active, you need to reconfirm your eligibility every three months.

What other financial support is available for parents?

• Tax-free childcare – You can get up to £500 every three months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to be used to help with the cost of registered childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every three months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year). It can be used in addition to funded childcare hours.
• Child Benefit – You can receive Child Benefit if you’re responsible for raising children under the age of 16, or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training. From April 2025, rates increased as follows:
  • First or eldest child: From £25.60 a week to £26.05 a week
  • Any additional child: From £16.95 a week to £17.25 a week

What you can do next

If you are struggling with debts call us on 0800 072 1206. We’re open from 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 3pm on Saturdays.

Alternatively, you can visit our www.payplan.com/police to speak to us via live chat or for more information.

If you’re behind on regular payments or falling into debt, BudgetSmart has hundreds of easy actions you can take to improve your monthly budget and bring you back onto the path to clearing your debts.

The ninth annual Water Saving Week, organised by Waterwise, is taking place between the 12th and 16th May 2025.

As a country, our water usage has continued to rise each year. In total we each use about 150 litres every day, and this is likely to keep going up.^[1]

This year, Waterwise are celebrating with the theme ‘Small Waste, Big Impact: Be a Water Saving Hero’, and are asking people to become real-life water-saving heroes.

How can I save water in my home?

• Save water when washing your clothes by only putting the washing machine on when you have a full load. This maximises water efficiency and reduces the number of washes you need to do. A full load uses less water per item, so it’s the smart way to save. Many machines offer water-saving cycles, using less water and energy whilst still getting your clothes clean.

• Keep an eye on your tap usage. Turn off the tap whilst brushing your teeth or washing dishes. A running tap wastes over six litres per minute[2] so every second counts. A low-flow aerator can help reduce water flow without sacrificing water pressure – an easy, inexpensive way to make your taps more efficient.

• Trim off a minute and save litres on your shower usage. Why not set a timer or play your favourite song to encourage you to cut down on your shower time, saving litres of water in the process?

• Consider your dishwasher usage. Like with the washing machine, always wait for a full load before running your dishwasher. Modern dishwashers are water-efficient, but they’re designed to work best when they’re packed to capacity. Most dishwashers today are powerful enough to clean dishes without needing to pre-rinse. Scrape off large food scraps, but let your dishwasher do the rest. Check if your machine has a water saving mode too.

• Find and fix sneaky leaks. Regularly inspect your taps, pipes and toilets for any signs of leaks.  Even small, slow leaks can waste litres of water over time. To check if your toilet is leaking, drop a few drops of food colouring in the tank and wait 15 minutes. If the colour appears in the bowl, you have a leak that needs fixing.

What happens if I’m struggling to pay my water bill?

If you owe money to your water supplier, they will likely take action to get you to pay what you owe. Whilst your water supplier can’t legally disconnect or restrict your water supply, they can take you to court to pay or get money deducted from your benefits to pay your bills and debt.

We recommend in the first instance contacting your water supplier to make a plan with them to pay what you can afford.

What you can do next

If you are struggling with debts call us on 0800 072 1206. We’re open from 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 3pm on Saturdays.

Alternatively, you can visit our www.payplan.com/police to speak to us via live chat or for more information.

[1] Customer water use – Ofwat 2 The quick fix way to cut water waste at home | Water UK

 

Serve and Protect Credit Union have launched a Fixed Cash ISA for the 2025/26 tax year giving employees within the Police, Prison, Military, Fire and Health Services the opportunity to earn a guaranteed tax-free return of 4% AER (Annual Equivalent Rate).

• Minimum effort, maximum return: Start depositing from as little as £5 and up to a maximum of £20,000 for the 2025/26 tax year.
• Attractive returns: Enjoy a guaranteed tax-free return of 4% AER, allowing you to earn more from your savings effortlessly.
• Safety assured: Rest easy knowing your savings are protected up to £85,000 by the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme). 

For people, not profit.

Serve and Protect Credit Union prides itself on being more than just a financial institution. As a not-for-profit, by opening an account, you can make a real impact to the lives of those who serve and protect our nation. Your support provides crucial funds to help fellow colleagues seeking affordable credit. 

For more information or to apply please visit: https://serveandprotectcu.co.uk/save/cash-isa/

Win £500 to help towards your household bills!

Free to enter Prize Draw for officers and all family members. The prize draw runs until 30 June 2025.

Worried About Mortgage Interest rates?

Virtual event on 17th April 2025 at 10:30 – 15:30 With Uniform Mortgages

No obligation – Independent Mortgage Advice clinic is available for:

• Purchasing – First Time & Subsequent Buyers
• Buy To let – Purchase & Remortgaging
• Residential – Remortgaging

Uniform Mortgages can also secure a rate up to 6 months in advance – so if you have a mortgage now and your fixed rate will be expiring within 6-7 months then please contact us on the below details to speak to a Mortgage Advisor today.

To book an appointment please call 01767 316626 or email info@uniformmortgages.co.uk with your requested date, time and best contact number.

If you are interested but unable to attend the clinic you can also arrange an appointment at a mutually agreeable time with the Uniform Mortgages team.

With the availability of private pensions, along with workplace pensions, it can be hard to keep track of the pensions in your name, especially if you’ve moved jobs multiple times.

If you’ve worked in any roles where you earned over £10,000 per year, were over 22 years old, were classed as a worker, and lived in the UK, then you’ll most likely have been enrolled in a workplace pension scheme.

With planning for the future and retirement at the forefront of many people’s minds, finding all your pension pots will help you to understand the approximate value of your retirement fund and can help you make educated decisions about the additional amount you need to save.

How can I find my lost pension pots? 

Check through your paperwork and emails

Have a look through your letters and emails, most pension providers send a yearly statement that shows the value of your plan and estimated retirement value. You may have employment paperwork detailing your pension scheme too. If you paid into a private pension, you should be able to see your provider name on previous bank statements.

Reach out to your previous employers

If you’re struggling to find any statements, you can reach out to your previous employers to ask for details of the pension scheme you were enrolled in. To save time, make sure you have your employment details ready, including the dates you worked for the business and your National Insurance number.

Contact your pension provider

If you know your pension provider but don’t have any details of your plan, you can contact them directly to get access to your account. You’ll most likely need to provide them with two forms of ID, your date of birth and an idea of when you think you enrolled in the plan for them to be able to access your details.

Use the Pension Tracing Service

The Pension Tracing Service will help you find pension contact details on GOV.UK or you can contact them by phone or post.

What are the next steps after finding my pension pots?

Once you’ve located your pension pots, you’ll have a much better idea of how much is currently in your retirement fund and what your potential retirement fund will be.

We recommend ensuring all your contact details are up-to-date with each provider and storing the details for each one safely and securely for future reference.

You may choose to consolidate your pensions. We recommend speaking to a financial advisor to make an informed decision about what would be best for you

What you can do next

While thinking about your pension pots and retirement, you may be worried about debts and their impact on your future. Our team is available to offer free debt advice

If you are struggling with debts call us on 0800 072 1206. We’re open from 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 3pm on Saturdays.

Alternatively, you can visit our www.payplan.com/police to speak to us via live chat or for more information.