Chamber
Plenary, 17 Nov 1999
17 Nov 1999 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
Child Care Strategy
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 there to the Conservative party's vouchers. Then I returned to Fife, which has been one of the pioneering counties in Scotland. Fife Council has a great child care record. When everyone else was aspiring to undertake some of these initiatives, Fife Council was already putting them into practice. There was 98 per cent coverage for all four-year-olds.
I am delighted that the new Labour Government put child care issues at the heart of its agenda. I see that Donald Gorrie has left the chamber, but child care is not just about education or social issues; it is also an economic issue. Although Donald said that we must think about the children, we must achieve a balance and think about the parents too.
I remember that, when I had my two children, I was living in London with not a soul around me to give me support, as my family was up here in Scotland. I thought to myself, "What do I do about child care?" That was when my passion for child care started. At one time, I was the chair of the Child Care Now Scotland campaign. I believed passionately that the provision of child care would affect the social inclusion agenda and would begin to help families.
It was a Jesuit priest who said, "If you give me the child, I'll give you the man." He meant that investing in children produces people we can be proud of. However, for the last 18 years, the Tories put us in the second bottom place of the European league. That is no record to be proud of, I tell Brian Monteith. I am heartily proud of my colleagues both in this Parliament and at Westminster for the work that they have done on child care, about which Malcolm Chisholm spoke.
Nicola Sturgeon talked about sustainability. I was elected to this Parliament not just as a Labour party candidate but as a Labour and Co-operative candidate. As such, I bring baggage with me: the ideals of the Co-operative movement, which believes both in providing retail services and in local people providing local solutions to local problems. That is what the Co-operative movement is about and that is what this Government is about.
I see a slightly puzzled look on Nicola's face. I think she is wondering about the connection. The connection is that, in Markinch, in Fife—
I am delighted that the new Labour Government put child care issues at the heart of its agenda. I see that Donald Gorrie has left the chamber, but child care is not just about education or social issues; it is also an economic issue. Although Donald said that we must think about the children, we must achieve a balance and think about the parents too.
I remember that, when I had my two children, I was living in London with not a soul around me to give me support, as my family was up here in Scotland. I thought to myself, "What do I do about child care?" That was when my passion for child care started. At one time, I was the chair of the Child Care Now Scotland campaign. I believed passionately that the provision of child care would affect the social inclusion agenda and would begin to help families.
It was a Jesuit priest who said, "If you give me the child, I'll give you the man." He meant that investing in children produces people we can be proud of. However, for the last 18 years, the Tories put us in the second bottom place of the European league. That is no record to be proud of, I tell Brian Monteith. I am heartily proud of my colleagues both in this Parliament and at Westminster for the work that they have done on child care, about which Malcolm Chisholm spoke.
Nicola Sturgeon talked about sustainability. I was elected to this Parliament not just as a Labour party candidate but as a Labour and Co-operative candidate. As such, I bring baggage with me: the ideals of the Co-operative movement, which believes both in providing retail services and in local people providing local solutions to local problems. That is what the Co-operative movement is about and that is what this Government is about.
I see a slightly puzzled look on Nicola's face. I think she is wondering about the connection. The connection is that, in Markinch, in Fife—
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...