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Meeting of the Parliament 15 March 2012

15 Mar 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Childcare

McArthur, Liam LD Orkney Islands Watch on SPTV

As Liberal Democrat education spokesman since last May, I have had the chance to participate in debates that have covered most aspects of how our education system is performing, and its strengths and weaknesses. The debates have been useful, productive and—in the main—consensual. However, I am conscious that we have not, as yet, brought the same attention to bear in scrutinising how childcare is provided. I am pleased that Scottish Liberal Democrats are this morning helping Parliament to atone for that sin of omission.

The debate could not be more timely. It follows the recent publication by Children in Scotland and the Daycare Trust of their report “The Scottish Childcare Lottery”. That detailed comparative assessment of provision of childcare across the United Kingdom provides plenty of food for thought. It also delivers a stark message—despite the First Minister’s pledge, which he gave again at the weekend—that we are some way short of being able to claim to be matching the best anywhere in Europe. The findings underline various issues that appear to be specific to Scotland and confirm that, in a number of respects, we lag behind the rest of the UK.

That is worrying. High-quality childcare—including nursery, childminding and out-of-school care—can play a key role in supporting our children’s learning and development. Especially in the early years, as Children 1st reminds us in its briefing for today’s debate, that can be pivotal in determining a child’s life chances. Meanwhile, for parents, access to affordable high-quality childcare is often crucial to enabling them to return to, or to remain in, work.

What are some of the key findings from the report? Children in Scotland and the Daycare Trust have established that there are significant gaps in the availability of childcare in Scotland. According to their report, only one fifth of Scottish local authorities indicate that they have enough childcare for working parents. The feedback also suggests that there are specific problems in relation to provision for older children—another point that Children 1st raised—as well as for families in rural areas and those with disabled children.

Where provision is available, childcare costs to parents are among the highest in the UK. Although average nursery costs are slightly lower in Scotland, the average cost for childminders and after-school childcare is higher. In England and Wales, childcare fees in local authority nurseries have largely converged with those in the private and non-profit sectors, but that is not true in Scotland: fees in private and non-profit sector nurseries have been found to be nearly £25 per week more than in nurseries in the maintained sector. It is difficult to understand why that discrepancy exists or why it is so pronounced in Scotland.

There are also geographic variations in childcare costs across Scotland, which are far larger than the variations that are found elsewhere in the UK. For example, out-of-school clubs in the most expensive areas of Scotland charge almost twice as much as those in the lowest-cost areas, while for childminders the difference is more than 70 per cent.

In the light of those findings, I do not suppose that Children in Scotland and the Daycare Trust had to work terribly hard to come up with a title for their report—to all intents and purposes, there is a postcode lottery. The high cost of childcare in some areas, the big variations in costs between private or non-profit providers and local authority controlled ones, and the significant gaps in supply testify to failures in managing the childcare market.

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Meeting of the Parliament 15 March 2012

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