Question reference: S6W-26348
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 21 March 2024
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Current status: Answered by Natalie Don on 16 April 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of childcare voucher schemes on any policies that it has in place to support parents and carers to return to work.
Answer
Childcare voucher schemes were part of UK-wide tax legislation on employer supported childcare. They were closed to new entrants in 2018 and as such, parents and carers who are taking up new employment are not able to access them. While some Scottish families may still be using them, they have largely been replaced by Tax Free Childcare. As the Scottish Government is not involved in the administration or regulation of childcare voucher schemes, we have not conducted an assessment of them.
We are aware of the wealth of evidence that shows that access to affordable and flexible childcare can improve standards of living and address child poverty through reducing pressures on family income and enabling parents and carers, particularly women, to participate in work, education or training. There is more information on this evidence base in ‘Best Start - strategic early learning and school age childcare plan 2022 to 2026: https://www.gov.scot/publications/best-start-strategic-early-learning-school-age-childcare-plan-scotland-2022-26/pages/10/
In the Plan, we have also set out our commitment to continue to engage with and seek to influence the UK Government to deliver better outcomes for children and families through childcare policy.