Chamber
Plenary, 17 Nov 1999
17 Nov 1999 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
Child Care Strategy
I welcome today's announcements. Any child care strategy should be developed in the way that this strategy has been—with much input from many people.
Although the Parliament needs to give a lead, delivery will come through local agencies, particularly local authorities, and provision will be influenced by local factors, which is as it should be. My local authority, West Lothian Council, has set up an early-years and child care partnership. My colleagues will not mind if I list the members of that partnership: parents, voluntary organisations, businesses, private nurseries, career development organisations and education, community, strategic and health services. It is important to bring all interested parties together.
The partnership plans take account of all aspects of local need, such as involvement, cost- effectiveness and quality assurance. We should be providing not just a quantity of provision, but high-quality provision.
There is an obvious demand for wrap-around care. With local authorities such as West Lothian Council guaranteeing that by 2002 there will be a part-time place for every three-year-old who needs it, the question is how such pre-school education fits into child care provision. Many of us know that a child starting nursery can cause problems with the child care arrangements that parents already have. Although parents want their children to attend nursery to build relationships with other children, there are few people who can work for two and a half hours a day. Parents need to find both the necessary nursery facilities and the child care that will allow them to work. Only a true partnership approach can answer such needs and provide such wrap-around care.
I welcome the long-term funding, which is essential. I agree with some of Nicola Sturgeon's points about initiatives that have provided money in the past, but only for first-year start-ups. Many of the people working in out-of-school provision are parents who offer their time voluntarily.
My own experience is that assistance with start-up costs is necessary, but many such service providers can take time to establish themselves and to gain the confidence of parents. It is perhaps in the second and third years that there have been problems in the past, but the longer-term funding arrangements that have been announced will alleviate those problems. So will the introduction of working families tax credit, which will provide people with the income necessary to pay for child care, and to ensure that provision is continuous.
The same issue arises with the provision of holiday care, particularly for children of school age. That is yet another area where the working families tax credit will be of assistance.
Local authorities are starting to examine how they ensure provision of child care for children with special needs. It might be useful to find out how that experience and knowledge could be shared among authorities. The Minister for Children and Education mentioned the telephone helpline in his speech. I wonder whether an element of that could specifically assist the parents of children with special needs and point them in the right direction.
Today's announcements will improve women's options; they will help ensure that children are well cared for; and they will support families into the future.
Although the Parliament needs to give a lead, delivery will come through local agencies, particularly local authorities, and provision will be influenced by local factors, which is as it should be. My local authority, West Lothian Council, has set up an early-years and child care partnership. My colleagues will not mind if I list the members of that partnership: parents, voluntary organisations, businesses, private nurseries, career development organisations and education, community, strategic and health services. It is important to bring all interested parties together.
The partnership plans take account of all aspects of local need, such as involvement, cost- effectiveness and quality assurance. We should be providing not just a quantity of provision, but high-quality provision.
There is an obvious demand for wrap-around care. With local authorities such as West Lothian Council guaranteeing that by 2002 there will be a part-time place for every three-year-old who needs it, the question is how such pre-school education fits into child care provision. Many of us know that a child starting nursery can cause problems with the child care arrangements that parents already have. Although parents want their children to attend nursery to build relationships with other children, there are few people who can work for two and a half hours a day. Parents need to find both the necessary nursery facilities and the child care that will allow them to work. Only a true partnership approach can answer such needs and provide such wrap-around care.
I welcome the long-term funding, which is essential. I agree with some of Nicola Sturgeon's points about initiatives that have provided money in the past, but only for first-year start-ups. Many of the people working in out-of-school provision are parents who offer their time voluntarily.
My own experience is that assistance with start-up costs is necessary, but many such service providers can take time to establish themselves and to gain the confidence of parents. It is perhaps in the second and third years that there have been problems in the past, but the longer-term funding arrangements that have been announced will alleviate those problems. So will the introduction of working families tax credit, which will provide people with the income necessary to pay for child care, and to ensure that provision is continuous.
The same issue arises with the provision of holiday care, particularly for children of school age. That is yet another area where the working families tax credit will be of assistance.
Local authorities are starting to examine how they ensure provision of child care for children with special needs. It might be useful to find out how that experience and knowledge could be shared among authorities. The Minister for Children and Education mentioned the telephone helpline in his speech. I wonder whether an element of that could specifically assist the parents of children with special needs and point them in the right direction.
Today's announcements will improve women's options; they will help ensure that children are well cared for; and they will support families into the future.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Patricia Ferguson):
Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S1M-285 in the name of Mr Sam Galbraith, on the Scottish Executive's child care strategy for Scotland, and an...
The Minister for Children and Education (Mr Sam Galbraith):
Lab
Thank you, Presiding Officer.I hope that we will not find too much difference among the parties in this debate; that is reflected in the amendment lodged by ...
Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I welcome this afternoon's debate on the Scottish Executive's child care strategy for Scotland. The child care strategy is one of many policies that has been...
Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
Will the member give way?
Nicola Sturgeon:
SNP
Not just now; let me get into my stride. Early education and child care should not be a political battleground. We have a shared interest in securing for eve...
Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab):
Lab
I welcome the tone of Nicola Sturgeon's speech and I thank her for visiting my constituency this morning. Does she realise that, as part of the national chil...
Nicola Sturgeon:
SNP
The child care tax credit is certainly a step in the right direction and some of my colleagues will mention it, but there are loopholes and weaknesses in it....
Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
I am pleased to welcome what the minister said. I see that that brings a smile to his face. I hope that he will still be smiling at the end of my short contr...
Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP):
SNP
Will the member give way?
Mr Monteith:
Con
I thought that no one was going to ask. I have been waiting for an intervention—I even wrote "intervention" on my notes—so I am glad that Fiona Hyslop has ob...
Fiona Hyslop:
SNP
The subject of free education is topical at the moment, given the issue of tuition fees. Does the Conservative education spokesperson believe in free educati...
Mr Monteith:
Con
No. The Conservatives do not believe in universal provision of free education for three and four-year-olds. However, we recognise that there must be some sta...
Malcolm Chisholm:
Lab
Will the member give way?
Mr Monteith:
Con
I am practically out of time, but I will give way if the intervention is relevant to my previous point.
Malcolm Chisholm:
Lab
Given that after-school clubs will be supported mainly by the child care tax credit element of the working families tax credit, how will the Conservatives' p...
Mr Monteith:
Con
As is quite clear, we intend to ensure that funding is made available for such clubs. We do not intend to introduce a system that brings in more means testin...
Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
It is my pleasure, and my party's pleasure, to support warmly Sam Galbraith's motion. The great thing about coming fourth in the opening speeches is that one...
Mr Stone:
LD
I see the deputy minister nodding. There has been a worryingly high turnover of staff up to now, and we must fine-tune that issue. The minister has drawn the...
Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab):
Lab
I welcome today's announcements. Any child care strategy should be developed in the way that this strategy has been—with much input from many people. Althoug...
Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Immediately before I became an MSP, I worked for Angus Council, helping to implement the child care strategy. Like most practitioners, I welcomed the fact th...
Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab):
Lab
There is nothing complacent about the Executive's motion, and I am sure that the Scottish National party amendment would have been accepted had it not implie...
Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I thank Malcolm Chisholm for his contribution, even though he said about a quarter of the things that I wanted to say in my speech. The Scottish National par...
Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab):
Lab
I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak in the debate. Like others, I commend the Executive for pursuing the strategy of good- quality, affordable and...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
As a parent who depended very much on the good will of my own family, my in-laws and friends, I welcome the child care strategy. There is no doubt that a mor...
Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab):
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to debate the child care strategy for Scotland. For too long children have been seen as little more than passive recipients of serv...
Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I will talk briefly about the qualifications of child care workers, and also about a more integrated approach that includes social inclusion partnerships as ...
Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD):
LD
I would like to congratulate the Executive on the progress that it has made on child care. The issue is widely supported across the parties and the Executive...
Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab):
Lab
I warmly welcome the Minister for Children and Education's statement. The new allocation for child care represents something in the order of a 140 per cent i...
Mr Monteith:
Con
I point out to Helen Eadie that, in the first year after the voucher scheme was introduced, 63,467 children attended some form of pre-school education. Only ...
Helen Eadie:
Lab
At the general election, I was a candidate in Roxburgh and Berwickshire, where I worked for 18 months to two years. I know that there was great hostility the...