Meeting of the Parliament 19 June 2025
We have to look in general at ensuring that there is sufficient, good-quality provision that is available flexibly in a way that aligns with what parents need. That is very important, whether for eligible two-year-olds, younger children or children who are at school.
I was pleased to attend an extra time session in Renfrew to learn about the work that is happening with children at school. Flexibility and ensuring that childcare works for parents, particularly women, is exceptionally important—for women and for children. Reducing child poverty is the Government’s top priority, as I have said, and it is inextricably linked with women’s poverty. We have to tackle the inequality that women experience to fulfil our mission.
During this financial year, we expect to invest £517 million to deliver three benefits to support unpaid carers, the majority of whom are women. Those are the carers support payment—which replaces carers allowance—the carers allowance supplement and the young carers grant, which are both unique to Scotland.
This summer, we will begin to develop an equality strategy for women and girls in partnership with the advisory council. The strategy will identify the gender equality goals that we will prioritise. One of the key messages from the advisory council has been that we need to be better at understanding and reflecting women’s different needs and experiences in our policies, for example—as has already been discussed by Pam Duncan-Glancy—disabled women, older women and minority ethnic women. Making sure that we hear from a diverse range of women as we develop the strategy will help us to achieve that.
The strategy will be co-designed with the advisory council and the empowering women panel, which the minister and I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with this year. They are a diverse group of women and girls of different ages and backgrounds whose lived experience informs and enriches the council’s work. We will publish our equality strategy for women and girls in 2026.