Hansard

I understand that things are not working for everybody, but the point of the investment is to improve things. As I have laid out, increased investment year on year is leading to improvements for parents, although I appreciate that we have further to go.

Several issues came up in the debate, and I will try to address them in turn. I whole-heartedly understand the point that Gillian Mackay raised about early start dates. I will set out a bit of information and then give members an indication of where I think that we should go next.

Arrangements for when children become eligible for funded ELC are set out in the Provision of Early Learning and Childcare (Specified Children) (Scotland) Order 2014. Those arrangements are intended to enable small groups of children to start at phased points, which makes the system more manageable, and many local authorities are going above and beyond that. However, it is extremely disappointing that decisions are being made to reduce local flexibility, and the Government will need to consider that in the next parliamentary session.

That sits alongside some of the issues that were raised earlier about cross-boundary provision. Statutory guidance sets out that, where possible, children who receive their funded hours in a setting that is outside the local authority in which they reside should be treated on the same basis as those who access provision in their own local authority area. However, there is not a specific statutory duty to make ELC available to children who reside in different authority areas.

I want all families across Scotland to benefit from the ambition that we have jointly set out with our local government partners in guidance on the funding follows the child approach. As I said, it is extremely concerning to hear of local decisions that are reported to reduce flexibility, choice and provider sustainability, and that will need to be considered in the next parliamentary session.

I hear what members are saying about affordability and, again, I hope that what I have set out today shows that the Government is trying to improve that. One issue around affordability that concerns me greatly is that, as we know, many families find it incredibly difficult to access the childcare benefit support that they need and to which they are currently entitled. We know, for example, that the uptake of universal childcare benefit in Scotland is very low, which means that many families who could have up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs covered are not currently accessing that support. Statistics show that those benefits are being taken up in only around 11 per cent of universal credit households. The same goes for tax-free childcare; it looks as if that is taken up by around 21 per cent of the total population requiring childcare. There is money available that is not being utilised, and I encourage members on all sides of the chamber to encourage local parents to take up those benefits.

I am sorry, Deputy Presiding Officer—I am aware that I am over time, so I will bring my remarks to a close.

As I set out at the beginning of my speech, I am happy to discuss further with members individually the points that they have raised. The Government is clear that we will go further in supporting families and children. I mentioned the fact that we are delivering more funded after-school and holiday activities, which, together with our free new national breakfast club offer, takes us closer to providing families with the wraparound school-age childcare that they need. We are currently focusing our efforts on the families who need it the most, recognising the importance of accessible, flexible, free childcare.

Once again, I thank all members for their contributions and for their commitment to improving childcare for all families across Scotland.

13:31

Meeting suspended.

14:00

On resuming—