Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Official Report 947KB pdf

Decision Time

The first question is, that amendment S5M-10650.3, in the name of Maree Todd, which seeks to amend motion S5M-10650, in the name of Michelle Ballantyne, on early years and childcare, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that motion S5M-10650, in the name of Michelle Ballantyne, as amended, be agreed to.

Motion, as amended agreed to,

That the Parliament recognises the strong cross-party support for the expansion of childcare, but expresses its grave concern regarding the findings of the recent Accounts Commission report, Early Learning and Childcare, which stated that there were “significant risks” that local authorities would not be in a position to deliver the Scottish Government’s target of 1,140 hours by 2020 because of the difference in estimated budget costs and additional pressures on staffing and additional infrastructure; notes the concerns expressed by the commission that the Scottish Government failed to undertake the necessary costbenefit analysis of the 600 hours provision, therefore failing to assess the impact on parents and providers of expanded childcare provision, particularly in terms of eligibility and the accessibility and flexibility of provision; demands that the Scottish Government takes immediate action to address the concerns of the Accounts Commission and to engage constructively with groups, such as Fair Funding for our Kids, the National Day Nurseries Association Scotland and local authorities, to agree a comprehensive strategy that will deliver quality provision across Scotland; acknowledges the Audit Scotland finding that, since 2016, the Scottish Government and councils have been working closely together to plan how they will deliver this expansion and assess its impact; believes that the expansion of early learning and childcare will transform the life chances of children in Scotland, helping to give all children the best start in life; agrees that, by the end of the current session of Parliament, staff, including in partner providers, delivering funded early learning and childcare, should be paid at least the living wage; believes that the early learning and childcare delivered through the expansion must be high quality if the benefits to children are to be realised, and considers that the Audit Scotland finding, that parents were overwhelmingly positive about the quality of the provision and the benefits for their children, provides a strong foundation for the expansion to 1,140 hours by August 2020.

I propose to put a single question on the five Parliamentary Bureau motions. The question is, that motions S5M-10724, S5M-10725, S5M-10726, S5M-10746 and S5M-10751 be agreed to.

Motions agreed to,

That the Parliament agrees that the Justice Committee be designated as the lead committee in consideration of the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Bill at stage 1.

That the Parliament agrees that the Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2018 [draft] be considered by the Parliament.

That the Parliament agrees that the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 (Supplementary and Consequential Provisions) Order 2018 [draft] be approved.

That the Parliament agrees that the Finance and Constitution Committee be designated as the lead committee, and that the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee be designated as a secondary committee, in consideration of the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill.

That the Parliament agrees that, under Rule 12.3.3B of Standing Orders, committees of the Parliament can meet, if necessary, at the same time as a meeting of the Parliament from 1.15pm to 2.00pm on 6 March 2018.