Chamber and committees

::I thank Roz McCall for her motion and for this debate.

We have heard from parents up and down the country not only about how expensive childcare is but about how difficult it is to find a place and how inflexible the hours are. At the heart of the issue must be a recognition that the world has changed since those of us here were little. The days of being able to survive, let alone thrive, on one income are gone and parents must go to work to provide. We also often live further from family members and the so-called village feels distant from many young families. The constant pull between providing for wee ones and being there and present for them is exhausting.

We have heard much from families about how difficult it can be to find a place. We recently experienced with our son Callan how much of a rush there is to find any childcare, let alone the right childcare. We are extremely lucky to have a wonderful childminder lined up to look after him, but trying to find a place was pretty wild. As first-time parents living outside a major city, we thought, perhaps naively, that getting a place would be relatively easy, but several nurseries had no spaces and childminders had long waiting lists.

We must ensure that the mix of childcare across the sector meets the demands of parents and children across Scotland and that places are of high quality and deliver learning opportunities that allow children to flourish. There must be high-quality jobs that value the expertise of those who work in the sector, and we must provide further development opportunities as we look to expand funded hours.

Childcare is an investment in the next generation, but it also supports women back into the workplace. I have friends who have two small children and have spaced them in age so that they will have some funded hours for their older child by the time their second maternity leave ends. Despite that, they will still pay the best part of £2,000 in childcare. No one should be paying so much and funded hours should not be serving as a family planning mechanism.

Scottish Greens want to establish a simple, universal and free childcare guarantee so that all children in Scotland have access to funded childcare hours from the age of six months and until they start school. We want to extend the 1,140 hours of funded childcare to all two-year-olds in Scotland as soon as possible, with provision starting from the Monday after their second birthday. That should be a priority during the first half of the next session of Parliament. Following that, we want to expand funded childcare for all children aged six months to two years, with the aim of providing a universal 570 hours of funded childcare by the end of the next session of Parliament. That will be accompanied by capital funding to expand the number of places available to meet that increased demand, and there will be significant investment in the workforce to ensure that we have well-trained staff.

We will also ensure that the increase in funded hours enables greater flexibility in childcare provision so that parents can access the childcare that they are entitled to. That includes delivering more wraparound care to suit existing work and school patterns, increasing flexibility in council-run nurseries—in particular, to accommodate shift workers—and reviewing and expanding childcare models. [Interruption.]

::High-quality, affordable childcare should not be a luxury in Scotland, but the current system is not delivering. This week, West Lothian Council voted to cut all funding for cross-boundary placements, meaning that parents where I live, Falkirk, who use private nurseries in Linlithgow are set to be hit with a huge unexpected bill.

Parents who have applied for places for their children will be denied them from 1 April and will now have to find alternative childcare at terrifyingly short notice. Children who are halfway through their current placement will be forced to move in August. That is an unacceptable level of disruption for young children and families who were promised funded childcare.

Will the First Minister intervene and help the families who will be impacted? Will his Government provide an urgent solution to councils cutting funding for cross-boundary childcare?

::The Scottish Greens want to deliver free places for every child in Scotland from six months up, but the Scottish Government is not delivering the current commitment on funded childcare once a child turns three, which is an issue that we raised with the First Minister ahead of this year’s budget.

Thanks to Scottish Green councillors, Glasgow City Council is now the only local authority left that offers funded childcare to all children starting the week after a child turns three. Many families elsewhere have to pay thousands of pounds out of their own pockets while they wait for the start of the next school term.

The Scottish Government promised free childcare at three, but it has not funded it. I appreciate the issues with councils not passing on the funding, but councils are trying to plug the gap. When will the First Minister come good on his party’s promise and make sure that childcare in Scotland really is free at three?

::Other things that we need to resolve include the issue that I raised at First Minister’s question time on cross-boundary placements. It is not an easy picture, but I hope that, given the consensus across the chamber, we can make progress on the issue in the next session. I again thank Roz McCall for securing the debate.

13:21

::Today, we recognise four years of Ukrainians’ brave resistance of Russia’s illegal and immoral aggression. Putin’s war has caused immense suffering and displacement, leaving tens of thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—dead, with civilians paying a heavy price.

From the very beginning, this Parliament and the people of Scotland have stood in solidarity with Ukraine and its people. Families all over our country have opened their hearts and doors, welcoming Ukrainians into their homes and communities. I am hugely proud of the unwavering unity that we have shown and that we must continue to show. Scotland and Europe must continue standing by Ukraine and its people, particularly when the White House is threatening to walk away. [Applause.]

12:06

::Today, we recognise four years of Ukrainians’ brave resistance of Russia’s illegal and immoral aggression. Putin’s war has caused immense suffering and displacement, leaving tens of thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—dead, with civilians paying a heavy price.

From the very beginning, this Parliament and the people of Scotland have stood in solidarity with Ukraine and its people. Families all over our country have opened their hearts and doors, welcoming Ukrainians into their homes and communities. I am hugely proud of the unwavering unity that we have shown and that we must continue to show. Scotland and Europe must continue standing by Ukraine and its people, particularly when the White House is threatening to walk away. [Applause.]

12:06

::Other things that we need to resolve include the issue that I raised at First Minister’s question time on cross-boundary placements. It is not an easy picture, but I hope that, given the consensus across the chamber, we can make progress on the issue in the next session. I again thank Roz McCall for securing the debate.

13:21

::I thank Roz McCall for her motion and for this debate.

We have heard from parents up and down the country not only about how expensive childcare is but about how difficult it is to find a place and how inflexible the hours are. At the heart of the issue must be a recognition that the world has changed since those of us here were little. The days of being able to survive, let alone thrive, on one income are gone and parents must go to work to provide. We also often live further from family members and the so-called village feels distant from many young families. The constant pull between providing for wee ones and being there and present for them is exhausting.

We have heard much from families about how difficult it can be to find a place. We recently experienced with our son Callan how much of a rush there is to find any childcare, let alone the right childcare. We are extremely lucky to have a wonderful childminder lined up to look after him, but trying to find a place was pretty wild. As first-time parents living outside a major city, we thought, perhaps naively, that getting a place would be relatively easy, but several nurseries had no spaces and childminders had long waiting lists.

We must ensure that the mix of childcare across the sector meets the demands of parents and children across Scotland and that places are of high quality and deliver learning opportunities that allow children to flourish. There must be high-quality jobs that value the expertise of those who work in the sector, and we must provide further development opportunities as we look to expand funded hours.

Childcare is an investment in the next generation, but it also supports women back into the workplace. I have friends who have two small children and have spaced them in age so that they will have some funded hours for their older child by the time their second maternity leave ends. Despite that, they will still pay the best part of £2,000 in childcare. No one should be paying so much and funded hours should not be serving as a family planning mechanism.

Scottish Greens want to establish a simple, universal and free childcare guarantee so that all children in Scotland have access to funded childcare hours from the age of six months and until they start school. We want to extend the 1,140 hours of funded childcare to all two-year-olds in Scotland as soon as possible, with provision starting from the Monday after their second birthday. That should be a priority during the first half of the next session of Parliament. Following that, we want to expand funded childcare for all children aged six months to two years, with the aim of providing a universal 570 hours of funded childcare by the end of the next session of Parliament. That will be accompanied by capital funding to expand the number of places available to meet that increased demand, and there will be significant investment in the workforce to ensure that we have well-trained staff.

We will also ensure that the increase in funded hours enables greater flexibility in childcare provision so that parents can access the childcare that they are entitled to. That includes delivering more wraparound care to suit existing work and school patterns, increasing flexibility in council-run nurseries—in particular, to accommodate shift workers—and reviewing and expanding childcare models. [Interruption.]

::The Scottish Greens want to deliver free places for every child in Scotland from six months up, but the Scottish Government is not delivering the current commitment on funded childcare once a child turns three, which is an issue that we raised with the First Minister ahead of this year’s budget.

Thanks to Scottish Green councillors, Glasgow City Council is now the only local authority left that offers funded childcare to all children starting the week after a child turns three. Many families elsewhere have to pay thousands of pounds out of their own pockets while they wait for the start of the next school term.

The Scottish Government promised free childcare at three, but it has not funded it. I appreciate the issues with councils not passing on the funding, but councils are trying to plug the gap. When will the First Minister come good on his party’s promise and make sure that childcare in Scotland really is free at three?

::High-quality, affordable childcare should not be a luxury in Scotland, but the current system is not delivering. This week, West Lothian Council voted to cut all funding for cross-boundary placements, meaning that parents where I live, Falkirk, who use private nurseries in Linlithgow are set to be hit with a huge unexpected bill.

Parents who have applied for places for their children will be denied them from 1 April and will now have to find alternative childcare at terrifyingly short notice. Children who are halfway through their current placement will be forced to move in August. That is an unacceptable level of disruption for young children and families who were promised funded childcare.

Will the First Minister intervene and help the families who will be impacted? Will his Government provide an urgent solution to councils cutting funding for cross-boundary childcare?