Childminders across the UK were left unpaid this week following a technical glitch at the government’s tax-free childcare scheme, which meant some were up to £1,000 out of pocket.

Iona, a childminder, tweeted: “Take parents’ money but don’t pay providers, leaving us overdrawn! Told nothing you can do, just hold tight a couple more days! Government going to pay parents’ late fees? And my bank charges?”

The problems relate to a high-profile scheme introduced last year where parents of under-12s can open an online account and get up to £2,000 a year for each child to help with childcare costs (see right).

The delays of a week or more reportedly resulted in some childminders going into the red, and could also potentially mean some parents are hit with late payment fees from their childcare provider.

Reports emerged on social media that the payments system crashed or suffered a malfunction during the week beginning 29 October – resulting in many providers not being paid.

On Monday, freelance journalist Felicity Hannah tweeted: “The tax-free childcare system ‘went down’ last week and payments have not been made. My childminder has been left without her money and I didn’t even receive a notification. Helpline says it’s being flooded with calls regarding this issue.”

Meanwhile, childminder Tracey says she had been left in the dark about when the problems would be sorted out, adding: “I’m owed over £1,000 from three parents which, as you can imagine, has left me massively in the red.”

Parent Kerry says that her childminder received a message about issues with payments. She had paid her childminder on 31 October, but the money had only just landed.

On Tuesday, HM Revenue & Customs said it had “identified an issue which has resulted in delays to some tax-free childcare payments”. It added: “We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused to parents and providers.” It went on to say that the affected payments have now been processed, and providers should have received their money on 7 November.

However, Neil Leitch, the chief executive of educational charity the Pre-school Learning Alliance, says there are lots of unanswered questions, such as how many providers and parents were affected, what financial impact has this had, and will HMRC guarantee providers who lost out will be compensated?

He adds: “The tax-free childcare scheme has struggled with technical issues since it was rolled out, often meaning many parents and providers have had to spend inordinate amounts of time on the phone to the helpline to do the simplest of tasks.”

How the tax-free childcare schemes work

Childcare costs are soaring: research this year found the average part-time nursery place for a child under two is £6,300 a year, rising to £9,500 in inner London.

There are several government initiatives that can help. But “the confusing hotchpotch” of support means parents are at risk of missing out on the help they need, according to the Family and Childcare Trust, which carried out the research.

So what’s on offer, how much can you get, and who’s eligible? Here are the main schemes.

• Tax-free childcare Introduced last year, this is for working families, including the self employed, in the UK with children under 12 (under 17 if disabled). Parents open an online account to pay for registered childcare – a childminder, nursery, nanny, after-school club, playscheme and so on. The provider must be signed up.

For every £8 you pay in, the government adds an extra £2, up to £2,000 a year for each child.

To benefit, parents must each earn on average at least £125 a week, but less than £100,000 a year. If you or your partner is on maternity/paternity leave, or unable to work because of a disability or caring responsibilities, you could still be eligible. Kids stop being eligible on 1 September after their 11th birthday.

To apply, go to gov.uk/apply-for-tax-free-childcare.

• Childcare vouchers Under this scheme, offered by many workplaces, parents can pay for childcare via salary sacrifice, which cuts the cost by allowing you to pay from your pre-tax salary. It’s now closed to new applicants, but if you joined before 4 October 2018, you can usually keep getting vouchers as long as you stay with the same employer (and they continue to run the scheme), and you don’t take an unpaid career break of longer than a year. You can’t continue to claim vouchers if you successfully apply for tax-free childcare.

• 30 hours free childcare Since September 2017, three- and four-year-olds from eligible working families in England have been entitled to 30 hours a week (1,140 a year) of government-funded care and education across 38 weeks of the year. Some providers allow parents to “stretch” the hours over 52 weeks. It must be with an approved provider and stops when a child starts reception (or reaches compulsory school age, if later).

You sign up online to get a code. Your child can start in their childcare place the term after they turn three and have received a valid code, whichever is later. You can get the free 30 hours at the same time as claiming childcare vouchers, tax-free childcare, universal credit or tax credits. The £125/£100,000 income rule above also applies.

To apply, go to gov.uk/apply-30-hours-free-childcare.

• 15 hours free childcare All families in England with three- and four-year-olds are entitled to this a week (up to 570 hours a year). Families in England with two-year-olds who receive some form of support (such as income support) can also get it. Contact your childcare provider or local council to find out more.