Chamber and committees

Last week, the cabinet secretary set out four red lines to councils: teacher numbers, the length of the school week, pupil support assistance, and probationary teachers. I hate to break it to the cabinet secretary, but councils have already made savings in those areas in previous years, and some have no choice but to look at making further savings to balance the books. As the cabinet secretary is keen to set red lines in education, perhaps she could outline what other savings councils should make in order to balance their budgets in the face of Scottish National Party cuts.

No—sorry. I have only four minutes.

To its further embarrassment, the SNP Government has now handed back the administration of the severe disablement allowance to the DWP because, according to the former Cabinet Secretary for Social Security, there would be “no advantage” to Social Security Scotland delivering it. It is clear to everyone that the Scottish Government did not have the right mechanisms in place. To me that is a scary thought, considering that the SNP thought that it would win in 2014.

At one point during the independence referendum campaign, Alex Salmond boldly claimed that it would cost only £200 million to set up an independent Scotland. Setting up Social Security Scotland has already cost the public purse £651 million. It is obvious that the Scottish Government’s claims about a fully independent Scotland in 18 months were pie-in-the-sky thinking, just like its current plans to hold another referendum.

It is not only the handover of devolved powers that has led to another failure of the SNP Government; since its implementation, Social Security Scotland has performed poorly, with waiting times for applications increasing and payments not being made on time. Whether it is less than half of people aided by the fair start Scotland scheme sustaining employment, or application processing times for best start foods increasing year on year, it is concerning that the SNP seems totally incapable of getting to grips with the new welfare systems.

More recently, MSPs were told that the winter heating payment could now be delayed until March. I must ask: what on earth is the Government doing? It is certainly not focusing on the creation of a benefits system that supports Scots. The SNP needs to urgently explain how it intends to fix the mess that it has created, and how new and expanded benefits will be funded on top of increasing demand.

I believe in devolution. I was only seven years old when the Parliament opened, and I grew up in a country that has the advantages of having two Parliaments. However, the SNP is making a mockery of devolved government by not being able to get the basics right. I believe that the ability to support those in need is a vital role for any Government. If the SNP continues to make a mess of the roll-out of Social Security Scotland, it will make a mockery of the Scotland Act 1998 and this Parliament.

Crucially, the SNP’s failure to get this right will have let down the thousands of Scots who rely on those benefits, and that would be shameful.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I want to check the timing of speeches, because that speech went well over the allocated time.

The British Heart Foundation is in Parliament today to raise awareness of the importance of learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation. My constituent Stephanie Bain had to perform CPR on her five-week-old baby after he stopped breathing in his cot. Neither Stephanie nor her partner knew how to do CPR on a baby, and I can only imagine how terrifying that must have been for them and their family. The family is now urging parents to learn vital first aid skills that could save the lives of their young children. My office has been in touch with Stephanie, and I am pleased to say that Finlay is now doing well. I have also reached out to the British Heart Foundation to encourage it to create digital content that shows parents how to perform CPR on children who are under the age of one. As February is heart month, will the First Minister support the campaign to ensure that everyone, especially parents, has access to CPR training, as it saves lives?

At present, a key issue in colleges is the inability to properly assess completion rates. When the Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training attended the Education, Children and Young People Committee in November, he was questioned by several MSPs about what he is doing to resolve the issue, and when it would be fixed. Mr Hepburn said:

“My ambition is to do it as soon as possible”.—[Official Report, Education, Children and Young People Committee, 2 November 2022; c 17.]

It has been three months since then, so will the Government provide an update on what progress has been made? If no substantial progress has been made, why not?

No. I am in my final minute and I have got more to say.

The 1,140 hours policy is a mess. The SNP Government has reviewed it time and again with no meaningful change. While it chooses not to act, childminders leave the profession and nurseries close. Parents have been promised 1,140 hours of free childcare and they expect the Government to deliver that.

Should the minister ignore the concerns that MSPs will raise today, this vital policy will fail. My debate is about the future of childcare, and it is time that the Government gets to grips with the crisis in our childcare sector before it is too late.

I finish by welcoming the minister’s contribution and I look forward to hearing how the Government intends to fix the mess that it has created.

Does the member not realise that local authority control of the sustainable rates for the PVI sector creates a fundamental flaw in the policy, because the PVI sector cannot compete against the local authorities? Does the member agree that the funding formula that is used to set the rates needs to be reviewed?

Good early years education is fundamental for developing vital skills that will help children to succeed in life. Promoting, developing and nurturing those skills, along with strengthening families, are important ways of improving long-term outcomes for children. Research shows that the development of important emotional, cognitive and behavioural skills takes place early in life. Those foundational skills are important not only for a successful transition to primary school, but for later academic achievement and social adjustment.

Giving our children the best start in life should be a priority for every member of the Scottish Parliament. I am passionate about early years education and it is one of the many reasons why I got involved in politics. I want Scotland to be the leader in early years by supporting parents and giving our young people the tools that they need to achieve.

The reality in Scotland today, however, is that the 1,140 hours policy is failing our children, parents and the private, voluntary and independent sectors. The Scottish Government is facing a crisis on top of a crisis: parents not being able to choose which nursery their child attends, PVI nurseries closing their doors, staffing shortages, a reduction in the number of childminders, out-of-date systems, relationship breakdowns, and nursery owners not knowing whether they can afford to stay in the childcare sector. All of that is happening on the watch of this Scottish Government.

Since returning from maternity leave, I have been in contact with nurseries, charities and organisations that have raised concerns about the Government’s handling of the childcare crisis. The Scottish National Party has a responsibility to make sure that its policy works for parents and their children. If free childcare cannot be delivered, it will result in a worse start in early years for education. Parents will be unable to work because they cannot get the childcare that this SNP Government promised them.

I had hoped that things would improve during my maternity leave and that the Government would finally get to grips with the problems that I and others have been raising for years, but nothing has changed. A former nursery owner in Aberdeen told me that she just could not take it any longer. She has now sold her nursery and left the sector completely. Modern apprentices in South Lanarkshire are being paid more than fully-qualified childcare practitioners, but the private, voluntary and independent sector is still being expected to train and not retain.

In North Lanarkshire, a legal dispute has delayed parents’ access to childcare. Those parents are now in limbo because they do not know when they can book nursery places for later this year.

In another council, the PVI sector was told that it is no longer a partner but a contractor. The sector is at the end of its tether, and the silence coming from the Government about 1,140 hours is deafening. We have been told that reviews are under way, but no statement on early years education has been made to the Parliament recently. Reviews should lead to action and action should result in change. Where is that change?

The disparity in rates between local authorities and the PVI sector has existed for as long as the 1,140 hours policy. It is widely known that local authorities determine what proportion of early years funding the PVI sector receives, and we know that local authorities get more money per child than their competitors. Parents have a right to know why a child who attends a PVI nursery is apparently worth less than a child in a local authority setting.

As a rebuttal to the minister, I would like to ask her how a local authority can be a banker and a competitor at the same time. That is the fundamental flaw in the 1,140 hours policy. The Government has effectively created a policy that allows councils to mark their own homework and set their own rates. As we know, they are not setting sustainable rates. Disparity of rates across the country is having a huge financial impact on the PVI sector, and it flies in the face of the Government’s 1,140 hours policy, which states that sustainable rates should include the ability to generate a surplus. However, because of the policy, PVI nurseries cannot generate any surplus because the Government has removed the competition from the market.

It is not just the inequity of rates that has led to the current crisis. There has been a complete breakdown in the relationship between councils and nursery owners. That is played out in council chambers, where the state of early years education has been raised time and again. Parents have contacted councillors to say that they cannot access their first, second or third nursery choice. The whole point of the policy is to give parents choice.

Then we have seen councillors refuse to meet nurseries because there has been tension around the delivery of the policy and, instead of trying to resolve the issue, the Government has sat back and let it happen. I have had countless conversations with the PVI sector about the lack of partnership working from councils, and I mentioned earlier how the sector has been treated and how that treatment has led to it feeling completely disillusioned.

In July 2022, I submitted a written question about the Ipsos MORI survey. In her response, the minister stated:

“The guidance is clear that the findings of the cost collection exercise are only a part of the rate setting process, and local authorities will also consider local ELC market conditions and ongoing consultation with providers.”—[Written Answers, 29 July 2022; S6W-09554.]

However, we know that many nurseries did not fill in the survey. We also know that local authorities determine around 70 per cent of PVI finances, so there is little room for nurseries to grow their business.

We all agree on the principle of 1,140 hours—it is universally accepted across all political parties. However, will the minister agree to fix the rates system for the PVI sector? That is a huge ask, and it will make a big difference to that sector as we continue to roll out 1,140 hours.