Hansard

Childcare for the early years is only one part of the Scottish model of childcare that we need to develop. We need to ensure that we have a model of childcare up to the age of 14 that meets the needs of children and their families. That is why back in May 2013 Labour proposed a childcare commission to examine all the issues. It is very unfortunate that the proposal was rejected by the Scottish Government. It was particularly unfortunate because the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill says nothing about out-of-school childcare and childcare at holiday times. The white paper does not mention those either, which is a major oversight.Improving access, availability and the affordability of out-of-school care is crucial in developing a Scottish model of childcare that supports children and helps parents. My Labour colleagues and I have consistently raised those issues in committee and chamber debates on the bill, and when childcare has been debated more generally.Amendment 327, which is supported by Barnardo’s, Children 1st and others, seeks to ensure that increasing childcare for the early years is not done to the detriment of out-of-school and holiday care. Councils are suffering significantly from budget cuts. Although they want to work with the Scottish Government to improve childcare, they need the funds to do that, and there is concern that out-of-school care and holiday care are vulnerable to budget pressures. Amendment 327 would ensure protection of existing services.Children 1st, in its briefing for this meeting, said that parents and carers who contact parentline Scotland tell it that the need to improve availability of age-appropriate and affordable childcare for older children is a major issue. Childcare is important throughout childhood and is not limited to the early years.Amendment 302 in the name of Clare Adamson is welcome in that it at least mentions out-of-school care. However, it would do little that is new. I suspect that local authorities already consult and plan alongside parents. The same is the case for amendment 301, although I welcome the intention to ensure that consultation happens. However, why does that have to be done every two years as opposed to every three, four or five years?The general point is that the Scottish Government clearly does not view out-of-school care as a priority—it is not mentioned in the bill or the Government’s white paper. However, the fact that the SNP Administration does not place any emphasis on it does not mean that we cannot pass an amendment that would allow future Governments that value out-of-school care the opportunity to increase its availability.Amendment 346 would ensure that the Scottish Government, working with local authorities and their community planning partners, provides out-of-school care. Save the Children, Children in Scotland, the Scottish Out of School Care Network, Parenting Across Scotland, the Scottish Childminding Association and One Parent Families Scotland point out that non-statutory services are vulnerable to cuts. Because of that—coupled with the changes that are planned by the UK coalition Government that will result in withdrawal of financial support for parents of over-5s and successor arrangements being put in place only incrementally over several years—they fear that parents and carers here could face severe pressures. Therefore, there is an increasing case for putting the provision of childcare for school-age children on a statutory footing.Those organisations believe that priority should be given to school-age children in low-income households with working parents. Others may disagree with that focus, but the key is to establish out-of-school care as a key part of a Scottish model of childcare. Scottish children are at a disadvantage compared with English children in that regard. There is an existing duty on local authorities in England—the Childcare Act 2006 was passed by the previous UK Labour Government—to secure for working parents sufficient childcare that covers childcare for children up to 14 years.Amendment 344 would introduce a right to childcare for young children and school-age children under 15. It is widely recognised that there is a lack of suitable childcare in Scotland for children and their families. As I have said, the bill says little about childcare for children under 3 and nothing about school-age children. There is considerable support for the measure. The Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee recommended that childcare for school-age children should be available on a statutory basis for children up to the age of 15. There is also public support for that—Save the Children has collected more than 1,000 signatures for its petition to the Scottish Government.As is widely recognised, and as I very much recognise, there are cost implications for delivering wider childcare improvements in the long term. I do not expect that to happen overnight; I do not think that any member would. I hope that we can work together across the parties to amend the bill so that we can act when resources become available and can be given to local authorities so that they can provide more childcare for primary-school age children. My fear is that the bill, as it stands, is unambitious and that we will have missed an opportunity without substantial amendments in this area.I move amendment 327.