Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S7W-03903

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what form the proposed additional childcare for children aged nine months referenced in its Programme for Government will take, and whether it expects this support to be equivalent to the value of between £1,400 and £11,000 committed to in the 2026 Scottish National Party manifesto.

The Scottish Government will next year publish and consult on a childcare transformation blueprint. We will continue to look at the existing evidence to understand what works for families, particularly those experiencing poverty and complex circumstances. The experience of the childcare sector will also be vital as we progress this important and exciting agenda.

We know that clear and open collaboration is critical, and we will continue to engage with stakeholders throughout the process, listening to the voices of the sector, childcare professionals, parents and carers, and children themselves.

Question reference: S7W-03902

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to introduce funded childcare for children aged between nine and 23 months, and whether this will be implemented before or after the introduction of funded childcare for primary school-age children, as announced in its Programme for Government.

The Scottish Government has committed to transforming the childcare offer to provide support for children from nine months through to the end of primary school over the course of this Parliament.

The Scottish Government will publish and consult on a childcare transformation blueprint next year, which will set out proposals for future childcare provision. Decisions on the timing of support for children aged between nine and 23 months will be informed by the outcome of this work.

Delivery will be phased across the Parliamentary term, with families able to access breakfast clubs across Scotland from August 2027, and a new after school and holiday childcare offer for primary school children available from August 2029.

Question reference: S7W-03901

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any pilot schemes are currently in place to provide additional childcare support for children aged between nine and 23 months, and whether it has any plans to introduce any such pilot schemes in West Lothian.

The Scottish Government is investing £6 million in 2026-27 in Childcare Early Adopter Communities across six local authority areas, expanding access to childcare, activities and wider family support services for families with children from early years to end of primary school.

While there are currently no plans for a pilot scheme in West Lothian, we will ensure that learning from the Early Adopter Communities informs development of a childcare transformation blueprint which we will publish and consult on next year. I would encourage parents and carers in West Lothian and across the country to input to that consultation.

Question reference: S7W-03904

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when its consultation on childcare will open and conclude.

The Scottish Government will publish and consult on a childcare transformation blueprint next year. When dates are set for this, I will be happy to communicate them to parliament. What is most important to me at this stage is that the consultation will engage stakeholders, childcare professionals, parents, carers and children across the country, and will help ensure that the transformation of Scotland’s childcare system reflects the needs of those families.

Question reference: S7W-04123

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-25172 by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024, whether it will provide the complete figures for each year since 2012-13.

Question reference: S7W-03476

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alyn Smith on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the national funding strategy for tertiary education, skills and apprenticeships, as required under the Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Act 2026.

Question reference: S7O-00365

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of its public service reform agenda on funding for third sector organisations.

Question reference: S7W-03312

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to provide any additional funding to local authorities to support the provision of cross-boundary funded childcare placements, as part of the wider reforms to childcare announced in its Programme for Government.

The local government settlement already fully funds the provision of 1140 hours of high-quality ELC for all eligible children, with the Scottish Government investing around £1 billion every year since 2021.

Local Authorities are encouraged to work together to offer families a choice of provider which is not limited by local authority boundaries through joint Funding Follows the Child guidance developed by COSLA and the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government continues to call on all local authorities to work together to offer choice and flexibility where families are impacted by boundary lines.

Ministers have committed to exploring cross-boundary provision further with COSLA within the context of wider reform and the Scottish Government’s ambition to transform the wider childcare offer during this parliament.

Question reference: S7W-03313

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a binding duty on local authorities to provide cross-boundary funded childcare placements in the current parliamentary session.

Local authorities do not have a statutory duty to provide funded ELC to children who reside outside their area, however they have the power to do so under section 23 of the Education (Scotland) Act (1980) and are encouraged through joint Scottish Government and COSLA guidance to treat children from neighbouring authorities the same, wherever possible.

While the Scottish Government is not currently planning to legislate to create a statutory duty, Ministers remain open to exploring all potential routes to improving families’ experiences.

Question reference: S7W-03310

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to revise the existing provisions on cross-boundary funded childcare placements set out in the Early learning and childcare: statutory guidance - July 2021 as part of the reforms to childcare announced in its Programme for Government.

Statutory guidance already sets out that, where possible, children receiving their funded hours in a setting outside the local authority in which they reside should be treated on the same basis as those accessing provision in their own local authority area.

Cross-boundary arrangements are working well in much of Scotland under the current legislative framework and Scottish Ministers continue to call on local authorities to work together consistently to support choice and flexibility where families are impacted by boundary lines.

Ministers remain open to exploring all potential routes to improving families’ experiences and have committed to exploring cross-boundary provision further with COSLA within the context of wider reform and the Scottish Government’s ambition to transform the wider childcare offer during this parliament.