MSPs urge work to establish if free 1,140 hours of childcare ‘at risk’

Work should be carried out to establish if nursery workers switching from the private sector to council-run establishments pose a risk to the delivery of the Scottish Government’s flagship commitment on childcare, MSPs have said.

Ministers had pledged to increase the amount of free early learning and childcare eligible pre-school children receive to 1,140 hours a year – with this achieved across Scotland by August 2021.

Holyrood’s Education, Children and Young People Committee said while meeting the 1,140 hours target had been delayed because of coronavirus, the policy had been “rolled out despite the challenging circumstances of the pandemic”.

But the MSPs have now written to Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville urging a “mapping exercise” be carried out across the sector.

They made the call after hearing from the National Day Nurseries Association of a “crisis” in the early learning and childcare workforce caused by an expansion in the local authority sector and the pandemic.

The MSPs told Ms Somerville the hourly rates paid to childcare workers in both the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector should be examined, and those working in council-run facilities.

This should also look at “the extent to which to which staff are moving from jobs in the PVI sector into local authorities”.

The committee said: “This would allow the Scottish Government to establish whether there is a risk to the delivery of the 1,140 policy due to staff capacity in the PVI sector.”

The committee had previously heard from council body Cosla that the 2022-23 Scottish budget included a 4% reduction in specific revenue grant funding for local authorities to implement the policy.

While Cosla accepted the “rationale for the reduction in funds was based on a national reduction in the number of eligible children”, it added that councils had “significant fixed costs which are rising faster than anticipated owing to inflationary pressures”.

It highlighted that a “reduction of a small number of children at an individual setting level will not allow for any reduction in costs relating to staffing, or costs relating to the building such as heating and cleaning”.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Private, third sector and childminding providers are a valued part of the successful delivery of our 1,140 hours early learning and childcare offer.

“Throughout the 1,140 expansion, we have sought to improve conditions across the private, third and childminding workforce delivering funded ELC. This includes our investment to enable local authorities to set sustainable rates for private, third sector and childminding providers that reflect the costs of delivery, provide scope for reinvestment and enable private and third sector services to pay at least the Real Living Wage to staff delivering funded ELC.

“Scotland has the highest funding rates in the UK, with rates paid to providers increasing by 48% from 2017-2021 for three to five-year-olds.”