Meeting of the Parliament 28 May 2014
The Government has a significant and positive track record of achievement when it comes to childcare, so I welcome any opportunity to talk about the issue, and today is absolutely no different. It is worth reminding ourselves of just what those achievements are.
We are building on our previous increase in annually funded early learning and childcare provision, from 412.5 hours to 475 hours in 2007, with a further expansion to 600 hours from this August. That represents a 45 per cent increase in provision for three and four-year-olds since the Government came to office and is worth up to £700 per child per year.
We are working with local authorities and partner providers to deliver a phased, sustainable expansion of early learning and childcare that supports more children and families while maintaining quality and—for the first time in legislation—improving the flexibility of provision in line with local needs. We are backing that up with investment by committing more than £250 million over the next two years, including £3.5 million to strengthen the capacity and skills of staff, alongside the on-going expert review of the early years workforce.
We have done all those things because they are the right thing to do. Investment in our children’s lives, in the earliest years, is crucial for the future of our country. Childcare enhances all-round development and wellbeing in children. Evidence also shows that childcare is particularly beneficial for disadvantaged children. The benefits of childcare persist through primary school, with evidence also suggesting that they carry on into secondary school and beyond.
Our commitment to children is evident in our world-leading early years policies and strategies, including our ground-breaking early years collaborative. We promote the measures that we do because they advance our economy and our society. Because we know what works and how important it is, we continue to be hugely ambitious. However, our ambition absolutely requires independence.
In “Scotland’s Future”, we outlined our blueprint for achieving universal childcare in Scotland. Kezia Dugdale outlined our plans, but they are so good that further expansion is required. In our first budget, we will commit £100 million to extend 600 hours of childcare to nearly half of Scotland’s two-year-olds. By the end of that first session of Parliament, those vulnerable two-year-olds and all three and four-year-olds will be entitled to 1,140 hours of childcare, which is broadly the same number of hours as is provided in primary school. To achieve that, we will invest a further £600 million.
In the long term, we will provide 1,140 hours to all children in Scotland, from the age of one to when they start school. When that is fully implemented, around 240,000 children and 212,000 families will benefit.
The transformational change of our childcare policy would improve care and learning for young children, boost economic growth and remove a major barrier to work for many parents, especially women. Indeed, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Union have stressed the importance of childcare in removing barriers to female labour market participation. [Interruption.]