Chamber and committees

Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission: Amendment 4

Submitted by: Morven-May MacCallum, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Motion type: Amendment
Motion reference: S7M-01022.4
Current status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on Thursday, 03 September 2026

As an amendment to motion S7M-01022 in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville (Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission), insert at end“; calls for action to ensure that families, particularly in rural communities, do not face challenges in accessing childcare services with parents and guardians having real choice and flexibility over how to organise their lives and fewer barriers to work; acknowledges that, by providing a choice, parents are enabled to return to work if they want, boosting family incomes, tackling child poverty and growing the economy; believes that access to early learning and childcare (ELC) would be enhanced by introducing fairer rates for private, voluntary and independent providers of ELC to cover the actual costs of delivering high-quality ELC; further believes that the Scottish Government commitment in its Programme for Government to invest in independent providers does not go far enough, and calls on it to fully close the funding gap between independent and local government providers of ELC and to ensure that parents have sufficient access to childcare provision wherever they are in Scotland.”