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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: S6W-18993

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 29 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when a long-term workforce plan for the early learning and childcare sector will be developed to address any risks to sustainability and to meet future demand.

The Scottish Government is working with partners and practitioners from across the childcare sector to develop a Strategic Framework for Scotland’s Early Learning and Childcare, School Age Childcare and Childminding Profession. The Framework will set out the priorities for the profession now, and in the coming years, as well as actions we will take with partners to support a sustainable, diverse and thriving profession. We expect to publish the Framework this summer.

Question reference: S6W-18990

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 29 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the movement of early learning and childcare staff between the public, private and third sectors.

The Scottish Government is proud that there are now an unprecedented 46,260 professionals supporting children and families across Scotland and that those professionals can pursue opportunities to progress and develop fulfilling careers in the sector. The Scottish Government does not have a role in determining the movement of staff between different types of provider.

I am, however, keen that there is a sustainable, diverse, highly skilled workforce to serve the whole childcare sector. That is why we are developing a Strategic Framework for the childcare profession which will set out actions to enhance the attractiveness of childcare roles and support retention of staff.

Question reference: S6O-02435

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Police Scotland’s latest quarterly performance report, which found that there were 1,928 recorded crimes of online child sexual abuse during 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-18989

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will be able to assess whether the 1,140 hours expansion of funded childcare has led to (a) better outcomes for children and (b) increased opportunities for parents to work, study or train.

Working with our Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group, we have set out a multi-year strategy for evaluating the impact of the expansion of funded early learning and childcare to 1,140 hours on outcomes for children, parents and families. The bespoke Scottish Study of Early Learning and Childcare (SSELC) is the main vehicle for collecting evaluation evidence on child and parent outcomes. Baseline data for the SSELC was collected during 2018 and 2019 from children and their parents accessing 600 hours of funded early learning and childcare. During 2023 and 2024 data will be collectedfrom a sample of children and parents accessing 1,140 hours. The Final Early Learning and Childcare Expansion Evaluation Report is due to be published in late 2025. More information can be found in our Evaluation Strategy published in October 2022.

Question reference: S6W-18987

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost will be of the development of software to improve the management and monitoring of early learning and childcare services.

Question reference: S6W-18981

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce any budget pressures being experienced by early years and childcare businesses.

Question reference: S6W-18986

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when updated software needed to improve the management and monitoring of early learning and childcare services will be developed and ready for use.

Question reference: S6W-18983

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide support to private nurseries and childminders in order for them to be able to provide flexibility and choice for families, in light of the reported fragility of the sector.

Question reference: S6W-18980

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to secure the early years sector, in light of reports that it "remains fragile" following the introduction of 1,140 hours of funded childcare.

I am proud of what we have achieved with the expansion to 1140 hours, and I was pleased to see Audit Scotland recognising that the Scottish Government, local authorities and partners did well to deliver the expansion despite the challenges of a global pandemic. I was also pleased to see Audit Scotland conclude that most parents are happy with the flexibility available as part of the expanded Early Learning and Childcare offer. Providers in the private, third and childminding sector have an important role to play in continuing to offer this flexibility.

Recognising the need to support the sector the Scottish Government made more than £35 million of dedicated financial support available to private, third and childminding sector services during the pandemic; we have legislated to continue the Nursery Rates Relief Scheme, which provides 100 per cent relief on Non-Domestic Rates to eligible day nurseries beyond the previous end date of 30 June 2023; and we have funded pilot programmes of targeted Business Gateway support to enable childcare providers to access tailored, specialist advice on strengthening their businesses.

Childminders are a valued part of our ELC sector, providing a unique form of high quality childcare in a nurturing home-based environment. We continue to work closely with the Scottish Childminding Association to support a successful childminder recruitment pilot aiming to recruit and train 100 new childminders in remote and rural communities. We are also supporting a second phase which is trialling this recruitment model in urban communities within Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and East Renfrewshire.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a diverse, sustainable and thriving childcare sector. However, I recognise there are real challenges facing the sector as a result of delivering an expansion in the face of the pandemic, Brexit and now the costs crisis. The Scottish Government is committed to working closely with every part of the childcare sector to understand and address these issues together. I hosted a round table with sector representatives on Tuesday 18 April to hear about challenges and opportunities for the sector, and I will be undertaking a programme of engagement over the next few months.

Alongside this Scottish Government officials are undertaking an update of the Financial Sustainability Health Check, which will be published this summer, to understand the impacts of these factors across all parts of the childcare sector. I will also carefully consider the findings of the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Review of Sustainable Rates when it reports this summer.

Question reference: S6W-18994

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when a procedure will be put in place to monitor progress with early learning and childcare (ELC) providers paying the Living Wage to staff delivering funded ELC.

Throughout the 1140 expansion we have sought to improve conditions across the private, third and childminding workforce delivering funded ELC, including through our investment to support sustainable rates to be set at a level to enable payment of the real Living Wage to those workers delivering funded ELC . Evidence from the Financial Review of the ELC Sector highlights that when the ELC expansion began around 80% of practitioners and 50% of supervisors in private and third sector settings delivering the funded ELC were paid an hourly rate below the real Living Wage. In contrast, our 2021 Financial Sustainability Health Check indicated that 88% of funded ELC providers in the private and third sectors intended to pay the real Living Wage to all their staff from August 2021.

As set out in the supporting Funding Follows the Child and National Standard Contracting Guidance it is expected that within the contract terms and conditions for funded providers local authorities will set out expectations regarding payment of at least the real Living Wage to all childcare workers delivering the funded hours.

In partnership with the sector and local authorities, we have taken important steps to improve our understanding of real Living Wage progress, and to support providers to deliver higher pay and Fair Work. To support this we have established a real Living Wage and Fair Work Implementation Group to explore implementation challenges and potential solutions to help all childcare providers become real living wage employers. The first meeting of the Group took place on 15 December 2022. The group is due to reconvene shortly.

We are also collecting further information regarding the payment of the real Living Wage as part of our update of the Financial Sustainability Health Check; and through the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Review of Sustainable Rates. Both of these reports will be published this Summer.