Childcare provision will be expanded to increase access for more
families across Scotland, as part of a new package of measures to
tackle poverty.
The First Minister will outline the proposals as part of this
year's Programme for Government, which will be focussed on
reducing poverty and offering practical help and support,
particularly to those families who need it most.
Further support is to be announced for frontline staff working in
private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers in the early
learning and childcare sector.
The First Minister will set out details of the expansion plans in
an address to Parliament today (Tuesday 5 September).
Speaking ahead of his statement he said:
“Helping families deal with cost of living pressures is one of my
key priorities, and providing further funding to expand childcare
provision will help deliver that.
“Scotland already has the most generous and high quality early
learning and childcare offer in the UK and the measures I am
setting out today will help make it even fairer and more
affordable for those who need it
most.
“Supporting families is not only fundamentally the right thing to
do, it is critical to our mission – affordable and accessible
childcare supports employment and the economy, and secure and
sustainable employment helps lift families out of poverty.
“This will be a Programme for Government focused on what
really matters to the people of Scotland – reducing poverty,
delivering growth, helping to tackle climate change, and
providing high quality public services.”
The First Minister met parents who have benefitted from early
learning and childcare provision at Rowantree Primary School
Nursery, Dundee, on Monday.
Background
In 2022-23 the Scottish Government delivered on a commitment to
start designing and building a system of school age childcare to
help tackle child poverty through work in four ‘early
adopter’ communities in Glasgow, Dundee, Clackmannanshire and
Inverclyde – supported by £15 million of funding.
