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That is a really important point. I do not want to do local authorities a disservice; there are difficulties. As Mr Adam has stated, challenges arise from the different demographics in our range of 32 local authorities, so it is correct to say that different approaches are being taken. Some local authorities are perhaps further forward in some areas and others in different ones. That is why it is so important that we are able to track progress in relation to the Promise progress framework.

I also want to mention a point that I tend to labour, which is about the importance of sharing best practice. In recent years, I have been to a number of conferences and events where local authorities come together with third sector partners and Government to understand what others are doing and the different approaches that are being taken. Having such opportunities to come together, engage and understand the various approaches is extremely important. Achieving that, in itself, is really good progress.

As I said in reply to Mr Adam’s original point, there are a number of ways to track delivery of the Promise. We are making good progress in ensuring that transformational change is happening through the various approaches being taken at local authority level.

We know how important childminding is to our overall offering of childcare for families. Childminding offers a unique, flexible—as we have discussed this morning—in-home childcare offering. We have worked with the Scottish Childminding Association to undertake a programme to recruit more and support more childminders. That is now in year 2, backed by investment from the Scottish Government, and it is proving popular.

I will perhaps bring in Andrew Watson in a second, because I cannot remember how many local authorities are involved in the programme, but I know that, so far, there has been interest from more than 200 childminders.

I am sure that the committee is aware of some of the pressures that a number of childminders face and some of the difficulties in recruiting and retaining childminders. Therefore, as well as that programme being established to ensure that there is flexibility and quality for families accessing childcare, it is also very important to look at some of the different ways of supporting childminders. That could be with time off the floor to complete paperwork or for mentoring.

A number of actions are being taken. As I said, the programme is in its second year. We are seeing extremely positive impacts, and I feel positive about where it is going.

The increase in ENICs is an extremely difficult issue for the childcare sector. The committee will be aware that UK Government consequentials did not cover funding for the private, voluntary and independent sector. That is expected to add a substantial cost to providers, and representatives of the childcare sector have brought that issue to me directly. I am very disappointed that that decision was made. Across the nations, we are working hard to improve the situation for the childcare sector for families and providers—for those who are out there supporting our children and trying to give them the best start in life—and the increase in ENICs contributions is having huge consequences.

However, we are trying to provide support to the sector in a number of ways. I have already spoken about what we are doing for childminders, but we are supporting private providers in a number of ways as well. We will continue with the actions that we are taking, but, as Mr Kidd rightly pointed out, the increase in ENICs will have a big impact on providers.

I think so. The fact that we have increased our investment in the programme and extended it proves that there are positive outcomes from it, and it could be further extended. As I have alluded to, the evaluation will be key to our understanding and our consideration of a future school-age childcare system. I agree with Mr Adam’s point.

Absolutely.

The work is under way, and officials will seek input into the process from stakeholders over the summer. That will be the next stage of the process.

Absolutely. As Ms Dunbar has stated, I am unable to go into a huge amount of detail on the Promise bill. As I stated in the previous committee session, however, it was my intention to introduce a bill to the Parliament to address some of the legislative aspects of keeping the Promise, and that is still the case. I will be introducing the bill in June, and I am very grateful for the committee’s patience with it. I look forward to discussing the bill further with the committee once you have seen the full details.

Regardless of our waiting for the introduction of the bill, and as I am sure Ms Dunbar and other members will be aware, there has been a range of activity on delivering the ambitions of the Promise. Ms Dunbar mentioned foster and kinship care, and a number of actions have been taken there. We announced the Scottish recommended allowance in August 2023, and it has made an impact for foster and kinship carers. That was backed with £16 million of Government funding. As a result of the cost of living pressures, we uplifted that in this budgetary year, which will provide further financial support for foster and kinship carers.

The committee will be aware of the range of consultations that we have undertaken in relation to the Promise bill, which I discussed the last time that I was here. One of them was specifically on the future vision of foster and kinship care and on the children’s hearings system, moving on from care and the definition of care experience. All of that has included a huge level of engagement with children and young people with care experience, and with relevant stakeholders. I will be able to go into more detail on some of that once the bill is introduced.

Going back to foster and kinship carers, and aside from the Scottish recommended allowance, we know that the issue is not just one of financial asks. A level of support is required to allow foster and kinship carers to play their role in caring for our children and young people. There has been a range of engagement sessions and consultations with those carers. I personally attended one to listen and to understand some of the issues that those carers are facing. I hope to be able to support kinship and foster carers with that. We will launch a new vision for kinship care later in the year, and there will be further progress in relation to foster care. I believe that that will speak to many of the asks and concerns that have been raised.

I hope that that answers Ms Dunbar’s question.

In relation to the specific example that Mr FitzPatrick has raised around the provision of 24/7 childcare, cost is an issue. However, we are trying to provide, understand and build that system of flexible childcare through the actions that we are taking, some of which I have already alluded to, such as the early adopter work and the extra time programme.

One of the key priorities in relation to the 1,140 hours expansion was flexibility and ensuring that parents were able to access the childcare that they required and for it to fit around their working life or whatever their needs might be. I have already alluded to the point that no family is the same and that one size does not fit all in relation to that issue. A system to evaluate our ELC 1,140-hours expansion will be published later in December this year, but before I go on to that, I should say that although flexibility is one of the keys of the 1,140 hours expansion, we know that we have further to go to ensure that all parents have the ability to access that flexible childcare. Many issues impact on that flexibility—for example, our rural and island communities face different challenges—so a number of factors need to be considered.

We are taking action in several different ways. I have already spoken about some of the pilot projects, and we are also looking at how to overcome some of the barriers and challenges for rural and island communities. A number of things are in progress that will help with that issue. However, for us to understand how that flexibility is playing out on the ground overall, our evaluation later in the year of the 1,140 hours expansion will be absolutely key, as it might allow us to build on some of the actions that we are already taking to try to ensure that parents have that access.

I can tell Mr Mason that, although I cannot disclose the contents of the bill at the moment, that has been considered in the process of its introduction. However, I am aware of the calls from Who Cares?, from care-experienced children and young people, and from other organisations that are involved, and I will be happy to discuss the contents of the bill—

I do not know whether I could say that I would be wholly satisfied with that, but it would be significant progress and very helpful.