Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 26 February 2026 [Draft]
26 Feb 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
First Minister’s Question Time
Childcare (West Lothian Council)
Since 2021, the Government has put in place about £1 billion a year to provide 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare for all three and four-year-olds. That is the Government’s commitment. We have set out in the budget proposals other provisions that relate to extending some early learning and childcare. The Government will have more to say in the coming weeks in relation to other measures that we are able to take to tackle child poverty.
Adequate funding has been put into the local government settlement to deliver on the Government’s commitment. This is supposed to be a partnership endeavour, but it does not help when local authorities do not work collaboratively with the Government to deliver the Parliament’s aspirations.
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The First Minister
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