Meeting of the Parliament 11 March 2020
I thank Jamie Greene for giving Parliament the opportunity to debate the Government’s progress in expanding early learning and childcare. The expansion is an important policy that my party wants to be fully realised. High-quality childcare provision is essential in giving all young people the best start in life; it is one of the best investments that we can make. However, as members have discussed in Parliament before, there are many issues that raise questions not about the direction of travel but about how we are getting there.
The guiding principles of the ELC expansion are quality, affordability, flexibility and accessibility. As members have said, Audit Scotland reports that it is likely that flexibility and choice for parents will not be fully implemented by August 2020. Just this week, I was contacted by a parent who said that, come August, their child will not be using her full 1,140 hours entitlement at a local authority nursery, and that they would like to use the remainder of the hours during school holidays at a private nursery that will be a partner provider. However, the local authority has told them that they cannot use the remaining hours at that nursery, so they will have to pay for care themselves or remove the child from a nursery in which she is settled, and enrol her full time at the private nursery. That does not represent flexibility or affordability.
There is an urgent need for the Government to clarify guidance to local authorities to ensure that they are informing parents correctly. That is another example of the “Take it or leave it” approach that I am worried will be the experience of too many parents from August.
I noted the minister’s careful choice of words during topical questions last week. She said:
“I expect flexibility and choice to continue to expand”.—[Official Report, 3 March 2020; c 5.]
Parents will not be satisfied with having to wait until some date in the distant future for childcare hours that work for them. Parents need to know what will be available to them in their local authority so that they can make plans.
August is only five months away. The Government has data from every local authority on the progress that it is making towards being ready for August 2020. It is frustrating that that important information is not in the public domain. In its most recent progress report in December, the Improvement Service said:
“there is significant variability seen across the country”.
That is not detailed enough: we need to be able to hold ministers to account. Scottish Liberal Democrats have lodged a series of parliamentary questions to try to get the information. I asked the minister last week whether she will allow us to see the data. We have been told that the Government has no plans to place a copy of the information in the Scottish Parliament information centre, and that withholding the data is in the public interest. I reject the idea that hiding the data is in the public interest. Will the Minister commit today to publishing the data?
I have another question to ask the minister. Right now, parents who choose to defer their child’s entry to school will be paying for childcare because their local authority did not approve funding for another year of ELC. Others will be choosing to send their children to school against their better judgment because they cannot afford to pay for childcare. I have written to the minister to ask that parents who have had to pay for childcare be reimbursed. Has the minister considered that proposal? Why cannot a Scottish statutory instrument be laid in Parliament this year that would guarantee that parents who exercise their right to defer will automatically receive funding?
We cannot end up in a rush to the finish line. As Mary Fee pointed out, we now know that 250 infrastructure projects that are critical to meeting demand are due to be completed between June and August, but that 83 of those projects have no contingency plan. Between April and September, councils will need to recruit 27 per cent of the additional staff who will be needed. Quality must continue to be at the forefront if we are to improve outcomes for our youngest children.
I support the motion and call on the Government to urgently address the issues that are being highlighted this afternoon.