Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 04 February 2026
04 Feb 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Portfolio Question Time
Employability Programmes (Support for Parents)
Families across Scotland have benefited from 1,140 funded hours of high-quality early learning and childcare for all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds since 2021. If families paid for that themselves, it would cost more than £6,000 per eligible child per year.
We have been doing a lot in that area in the past few years, and we have invested heavily in that agenda. Of course, I agree with the sentiments that the member has outlined. We always think that there is a lot more to do, but the statistics show that we are saving a lot of families a lot of money by helping with childcare support.
I have also separately given some indication of what has been invested through the employability agenda.
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Richard Lochhead
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Families across Scotland have benefited from 1,140 funded hours of high-quality early learning and childcare for all three and four-year-olds and eligible tw...