I think that Mr Rennie wanted to intervene.

I was about to come on to the work that we are doing to promote and increase recruitment to childminding. I accept that there has been a drop in the number of childminders in Scotland—that is a fact. However, the decline is replicated across the UK and is not unique to Scotland.

We are working with the Scottish Childminding Association to support the delivery of targeted recruitment models such as the one established by the innovative Scottish rural childminding partnership, which aims to recruit and train 100 new childminders in remote and rural areas. We are funding an extension of the recruitment pilot to urban areas. We have also recently committed to funding a new pilot to provide targeted support to childminders to help them to streamline the administrative burdens associated with their practice.

In response to Martin Whitfield’s point about engagement with the sector, I advise that, tomorrow, the childcare sector working group will meet representatives from across the PVI sector, local authorities and the Scottish Childminding Association. We are establishing a new national childcare providers forum that will be a space for strategic policy discussion. We are keen to have as wide a representation of the sector as possible there. We are also providing up to £500,000 over the next two years for the Scottish childcare sector representation and sustainability fund to support eligible childcare sector representative bodies to deliver their representative functions, which are key. We need to hear their voices and strengthen their long-term sustainability.

Those are strong foundations for us to build on. I look forward to continuing to work closely with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and our partners in the sector to deliver the new legislation on deferrals from August and on other priorities, including continuing to deliver progress on sustainable rates and the uptake of the offer for two-year-olds. I also look forward to continuing our work on building a new system of childcare for school-age children and developing the evidence around expanding ELC for one and two-year-olds, which will deliver on our ambitious commitment for Scotland’s children and families.

Does Meghan Gallacher recognise that not only are local authorities service providers but that they have a legal duty to ensure that every eligible child is able to access the statutory entitlement to funded ELC, including when it is not commercially viable for PVI providers? Is she aware that funding is also provided for additional support needs, the provision of equity and excellence leads, meals in early learning settings, and crisis support, including for families from Ukraine?

As a result of the ELC expansion, the average rates that are paid to providers to deliver funded ELC to three to four-year-olds have increased by 57 per cent since 2017. The average rate that is paid for three to four-year-olds by Scottish local authorities is the highest in the UK in 2023-24, at £5.77 per hour, compared to £5 per hour in Wales and £5.15 per hour in England.

This has been an important debate. It is critical that we put on record the significant collective achievement of delivering 1,140 hours and again thank our partners in local government, as well as the private, third and childminding sectors for all their hard work in making such a success of the expansion so far. I am particularly proud that the offer is available to all eligible children, regardless of their parents’ working status, meaning that Scotland has the most generous childcare offer in the United Kingdom today. I will continue to make the case that children’s needs must always come first.

It is testament to the efforts of everyone in the sector that we now have near-universal uptake among three and four-year-olds: 99 per cent in the latest published statistics. It is also good news that the number of two-year-olds who are registering for funded ELC is at the highest-ever level. I am pleased that we have secured a legal gateway with the UK Government that finally means that local authorities in Scotland will be able to access the information that they need to contact eligible households later this year. That will make a real difference to levels of uptake, and my officials are working closely with councils to support them to reach as many families as possible.

I am also delighted to read about the positive experiences that families are having with funded ELC. Quality and flexibility are at the heart of our 1,140 hours offer, and survey results that were published in December show that we are delivering for families. As many as 97 per cent of parents are satisfied with the quality of the funded hours that their children access, and more than 88 per cent of parents are satisfied that they have the flexibility to use their funded hours in a way that works for them.

There has been discussion about the rates that are paid to providers. I reiterate that, throughout the expansion to 1,140 hours, we have used the significant public investment that we have made in funded ELC—it will be almost £1 billion in 2023-24—to seek to support and improve conditions across the private, voluntary and childminding workforce that delivers this vital service.

We have debated the issue in committee. I cannot remember whether, when Mr Rennie raised it there, I referenced the most recent ELC census that was published in December. He mentioned a reduction in the services that provide funded ELC. The census found that there has been a reduction of 1 per cent, so there has not been the mass closure that some people might have heralded. I am not accusing Mr Rennie of that.

I appreciate that, for providers, conditions are challenging, particularly as a result of the pandemic and the cost crisis. That is why we are continuing with the nursery rates relief scheme, which provides 100 per cent relief on non-domestic rates to eligible day nurseries beyond 30 June this year. It is worth noting that the temporary discount on rates for nurseries in England ended on 1 April 2022.

We are also developing a programme of tailored support to enable childcare providers to access specialist advice on strengthening and diversifying their businesses. I would like to take a moment to recognise the unique and invaluable role that childminders play in delivering high-quality funded ELC, which Mr Choudhury spoke about. Recent years have been challenging for childminders, but we continue to work closely with our partners, including the Scottish Childminding Association, to increase the number of childminders in Scotland through the implementation of the Scottish Government report entitled “Our Commitment to Childminding in Scotland”.

I absolutely recognise that that is an area that Mr Rennie and I have had correspondence on for some time. I am delighted that we got the data-sharing arrangements in place. I think that the legislation went through the UK Parliament in October. We are working with local authorities and COSLA to help them to make maximum use of that data, and we hope that they will be able to access it by the end of this financial year.

I am happy to talk Mr Rennie through the process of how that will work, if that would be helpful to him. In relation to the two-year-olds, local authorities will get access to a limited amount of Department for Work and Pensions data three times a year. Local authorities will only be able to access the amount of data that they need to identify those families who would be eligible, which will give them the opportunity to write to those families to make them aware of that offer. They will only be allowed to use that information for the specific purpose of targeting those groups. We will continue to publicise the offer through the Parent Club and other Scottish Government channels.

I will be happy to come back to the committee on that next year. We anticipate that there will be an increase, and there is funding in next year’s financial settlement to fund those eligible two-year-olds. The rate has gone up again. It has gone up to 14 per cent, but I appreciate that there may well be more children out there whose parents are not aware of the offer. I am sure that I will come back to the committee on that issue.

I do not recognise what the convener said about top-slicing.

We are engaging with the SSSC on the possibility of having the scoping and mapping exercise. I am more than happy to write to the committee with updates on that.

I am not familiar with those figures, but, if the convener wants to send me the source of the information, I will be happy to look at it.

When looking at the funding that is provided by the Scottish Government to local authorities, it would be simplistic to say that there is £100 available and there are 100 children so that means that £100 should be divided by 100 and each child should get £1. I know that that is a very simplistic example. From their budget, local authorities have to fund not only the ELC for PVI providers but additional costs. They have things such as property costs, including the repair and maintenance of buildings and settings, and their own employee costs—