Chamber and committees

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I should have mentioned in my opening speech that I sit on the Pregnant Then Screwed advisory board. I apologise for omitting that.

On 5 September 2023, Humza Yousaf announced the plan to improve childcare, which involved a pilot to expand the provision of childcare to children from the age of nine months to the end of primary school, alongside plans to accelerate the expansion of care provision to two-year-olds and to offer more parental choice, to make childcare flexible.

Two years on, where are we? Well, we are not world leading, as some Scottish National Party members would have us believe, because, despite repeated promises, the SNP has failed to deliver on its pledge to expand the provision of early learning and childcare to children from the age of nine months. The pilot was scrapped before it even managed to get off the ground. I remind members that it was a flagship policy that was hailed as transformational for parents but that, like so many other SNP promises—such as those about free bikes, free laptops and the full roll-out of free school meals, to name just a few—turned out to be hollow words. The Government told parents that it would back them, but it turned its back on them.

Nowhere is that betrayal more evident than in places like North Lanarkshire, in my region, where the council does not provide early learning and childcare provision until the start of the term after a child turns three. The reason for that is budget pressures. Let us take a closer look at what that means for parents. A child who turns three in September will not receive funded childcare until January. That means months of additional pressure on working parents and months of missed learning opportunities for their child. However, that is not just an administrative error made by one local authority; as Jamie Greene rightly states in his motion, it is commonplace, and there is a postcode lottery. Councils are just following the guidance, but who sets the guidance? Well, it is the Scottish Government.

This systemic failure leaves parents in an impossible position and those who are hoping to start a family perhaps thinking again. Why is that? Without funded childcare support, parents are being forced to make an unfair choice. They can go back to work and pay extortionate childcare costs—which, for some, outstrip the cost of their rent or mortgage—or give up work altogether, sacrificing income, career progression and financial stability. Not many families have a choice about whether to work or to stay at home.

In September 2025, Pregnant Then Screwed reported that more than half of parents were forced to reduce their working hours or leave their jobs due to the high cost of childcare, with one in four families paying more than £1,000 a month. The Government needs to acknowledge that childcare is not a luxury and that starting a family is not just nice but is a pillar of a functioning economy.

Given that birth rates are declining, we need to make it easier, not harder, for couples to start a family. When parents are priced out of the workforce because they cannot find affordable childcare, we all lose. Parents are not a burden on our system; they are contributing taxpayers and they are the backbone of local and national economies. They deserve a Government that supports them so that they can give back.

Under the SNP Government, promises will continue to be made and will continue to be broken. Families are repeatedly told by the Government that help is on the way only to be left behind by a Government that views them as an afterthought. That is what they are—parents are being told that they are an afterthought. Local authorities such as North Lanarkshire Council are unable to deliver because of a lack of resource, planning and political will from the top. That is not about political will from councils; it is about political will from the Scottish Government to acknowledge the problems that we experience in our childcare provision and make the necessary changes to fix those.

We need a childcare system that works for every family—one that is accessible, that is affordable and that delivers. I will finish with a question. Has the SNP Government completely given up on expanding childcare or fixing its problems, has it forgotten about it, or is it completely incapable of fixing the problems that we have in our childcare sector?

If the Government was serious about fixing the problems with childcare and its expansion, why has it not expanded funded childcare from nine months onwards? That was a promise that the SNP made, and it is a promise that has been broken.

RAAC remediation is a postcode lottery in Scotland. We have heard about the heartbreaking scenario of yet another group of home owners who are, sadly, going to lose their homes. I find that absolutely heartbreaking.

I do not agree with the idea that this is all on the UK Government. The Scottish Government can find money down the back of the sofa when it wants to, so why will it not back home owners in Scotland who are impacted by RAAC? I will ask the cabinet secretary what I have asked her before: will she finally confirm whether the Government will give financial assistance to home owners who are impacted by RAAC?

The minister will be aware that farmers growing malting barley have faced challenges this year, including a difficult harvest, falling prices, increased production costs and reduced demand from the Scotch whisky industry. Worryingly, it is anticipated that the challenges facing the industry will be long term and will affect farmers for years to come. Will the Scottish Government commit to increasing farm payments to compensate farmers for the losses that they are incurring? Will the Scottish Government liaise directly with the Scotch whisky industry to ensure that arable farmers are supported?

To ask the Scottish Government what long-term action it will take to support farmers growing malting barley. (S6O-04999)

Thank you. That is helpful.

If witnesses will bear with me, I would like to expand on a point that Gillian Campbell raised in relation to landlords. We will hear from the Scottish Association of Landlords on our next panel. In its submission, it states that it has concerns regarding this particular proposal, because

“it will increase costs for landlords without delivering significant additional value”.

It also states:

“The energy efficiency of most properties will not materially change within five years”

and asks for a “more proportionate approach”, which would be to

“require a new EPC at the first letting”

following the minimum energy efficiency standard—MEES—compliance date and to

“retain the 10-year validity period thereafter”.

Does anyone have thoughts on those concerns or, indeed, alternative proposals?

That is helpful.

It goes back to the argument about up-front costs versus potential benefits that could follow thereafter, and the up-front costs will be daunting for many home owners up and down the country with these reforms coming through.

Yes.

I will stick on this theme for a second and return to the issue of geographical challenges, which was discussed earlier in relation to rural versus more urban properties. Scottish Land & Estates is hinting at concerns about implementation, because it is harder to retrofit and upgrade rural properties in order for them to achieve EPC ratings. Given the type of buildings that rural properties are, in relation to structure and age, there are usually higher costs associated with trying to get them up to a good energy efficiency standard. How do we get around that?

There are houses and rural properties that do not achieve an EPC C rating, which is the energy efficiency standard that we are hoping that properties will achieve. With the new reforms, how will that be achieved without asking people to take ridiculous energy efficiency measures? One example that I heard about directly from the owner of a stand-alone rural property was that they would have to put up a wind turbine in front of the property. That gives an indication of the significant barriers that home owners in rural areas face in trying to make their homes more energy efficient.