Question reference: S5W-23491
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 28 May 2019
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Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 June 2019
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the partnership between Aberdeenshire Council and private, voluntary and independent sector childcare providers will be able to deliver the expansion to 1,140 hours of funded childcare by August 2020, and whether it will publish the details of any analysis it has carried out of the effectiveness of this work.
Answer
All local authorities recognise that funded providers across the private and third sectors are vital to the delivery of the 1140 offer. This is reflected in local authority expansion plans which indicate that around a quarter of funded hours will be delivered by funded providers in the private or third sector or childminders by 2021-22.
The Scottish Government and COSLA have robust joint governance arrangements in place to ensure that all local authorities have the required capacity and capability in place and are well supported as they prepare for August 2020.
The Joint Delivery Board, which I co-chair with the COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People, is responsible for reviewing progress towards implementation of the 1140 hours offer across all 32 local authorities and for agreeing actions to mitigate risk, respond to emerging issues or put support in place where that may be required. The Board will publish further delivery progress reports at https://www.gov.scot/publications/early-learning-and-childcare-delivery-progress-report/