Meeting of the Parliament 26 February 2026 [Draft]
I thank members from across the chamber for supporting my motion to allow this debate to take place. It is on a really important issue, and I am delighted that we have a chance to debate it in the final few weeks of the parliamentary session.
The motion speaks to two connected truths with which we can all agree: childcare strengthens families, which strengthens Scotland’s economy. Providing childcare is not simply a social policy; it is an economic lever. When parents are able to access affordable, flexible and accessible childcare, they are better able to return to work, increase their hours or pursue training and career progression, which supports household income, reduces financial pressures and contributes to national productivity.
Every parent who is able to re-enter employment because childcare is available represents greater economic participation and greater financial stability for their family, but families in Mid Scotland and Fife and across the country continue to tell us that affordable and flexible childcare can be difficult to find. Availability does not always align with working patterns, provision does not always match demand and costs remain a significant barrier.
That is why the work of organisations such as Pregnant Then Screwed deserves our recognition. Through campaigning and evidence gathering, Pregnant Then Screwed has ensured that the lived experience of parents is heard in policy debates across the UK. Its 2026 state-of-the-nation survey produced sobering findings. Two thirds of mothers said that childcare costs are the same as or more than their income, and more than half of mothers stated that, after paying for childcare, it does not make financial sense for them to work. Those are shocking statistics.
Too many families need both parents working to ensure that they have a roof over their head, heat in their homes and food on their table. Working simply to afford the childcare that allows them to return to work does not provide that security. When the majority of mothers say that employment does not pay once childcare is factored in, we must ask ourselves whether the system is truly delivering for families. With 50 per cent of fathers expressing the same concern, we see that it is a widespread societal issue and not a gender-based one.
It is in that context that I will be clear about where we stand. The Scottish Conservatives are committed to building a country that supports working families from the very start. We believe that no parent should be forced to choose between financial stability and staying at home simply because affordable childcare is out of reach. When parents tell us that it does not make financial sense for them to work, that is a signal that the system is not functioning as it should. Work should provide security, independence and opportunity, not place families under greater strain.
That is why we have proposed the introduction of means-tested childcare from the age of nine months. The purpose is straightforward: to support parents, to ensure that every child has the best possible start in life and to unlock workforce potential in order to reduce poverty. Many young children respond and develop well when nurtured at home by their parents, but whether to do that is a choice that families should be able to make if they can afford to do so. Too many families are forced into a different position and put under financial pressure, because it is not possible for them to balance the cost of childcare with returning to work. By targeting support to those who need it most, we can ease the financial pressures on families, support parents who wish to return to employment and strengthen Scotland’s economy at the same time.
Another issue lies in the inflexibility of the system. It is pointless to offer state-paid childcare if parents cannot access it at the hours that work for them. Being told by the local authority that the hours offered are, to all intents and purposes, a take-it-or-leave-it situation makes it completely unmanageable. That is why we propose to change the payment delivery system to ensure that money actually follows the child. Our system would ensure that parents can directly select the childcare offering in their area that best suits their needs, timings and availability. That might be a private nursery or a childminder but, in many cases, it could still be the local authority nursery. That would allow real choice for parents.
The motion notes that Pregnant Then Screwed’s 2026 survey has just concluded, with its findings to be published. Those findings are important. They will provide updated evidence on whether families think that progress has been made or whether pressures persist. At the same time, the Scottish Government’s early learning and childcare expansion programme evaluation strategy has been assessing the impact of expanded provision, covering the period from 2018 to 2025. We are still waiting for the findings from that—I believe that they are coming out in early 2026, but we are rapidly running out of time.
That evaluation represents a significant opportunity. The expansion of early learning and childcare has been one of the most substantial public policy commitments in recent years, and it is right that we examine the outcome carefully. Has it reduced the cost burden on families? Has it improved flexibility? Has it supported workforce participation as intended? Has it delivered consistency across the regions and communities? I would say that it has not.
The Parliament should have the opportunity to scrutinise that important review before the end of the current parliamentary session. That is not about scoring points; it is about accountability and improvement. If childcare support is to fulfil its dual role to support the family unit and strengthen Scotland’s economy, we must ensure that policy is grounded in evidence and open to examination.
Families in Mid Scotland and Fife, and across Scotland, deserve a childcare system that works for modern working lives. They deserve transparency about the impact of public investment and a Parliament that is willing to engage seriously with the data. The motion asks simply that we recognise both the economic and social importance of childcare, acknowledge the concerns raised by parents and commit to doing something about it.