- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 13 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the greater use of farm-to-fork methods to encourage domestic food production.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 13 September 2023
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 27 July 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement the recommendation by the Auditor General in the report, Early learning and childcare: Progress on delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion, for it to plan how to gather data on demand for both funded early learning and childcare, and childcare paid for directly by parents.
Answer
Local authorities have a statutory duty to consult with parents and carers every two years to ensure that their models of funded early learning and childcare (ELC) meet local needs and demands. The Scottish Government has committed to working with its partners to developing an outcomes and measurement framework for funded ELC before 2025. As part of the development of this framework the Scottish Government will work with partners, including local authorities, to consider the feasibility of gathering national-level data on parental demand for funded ELC or paid-for childcare.
Local authorities have a statutory duty to consult with parents and carers every two years to ensure that their models of funded early learning and childcare (ELC) meet local needs and demands. The Scottish Government has committed to working with its partners to developing an outcomes and measurement framework for funded ELC ahead of 2025. As part of the development of this framework the Scottish Government will work with partners, including local authorities, to consider the feasibility of gathering national-level data on parental demand for funded ELC or paid-for childcare.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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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.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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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.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 June 2023
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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.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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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.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of eligible children with additional support needs are currently accessing 1,140 hours of funded childcare.
Answer
According to the latest Scottish Government Early Learning and Childcare census data from September 2022, 99% of 3- and 4-year-olds, and 14% of 2-year-olds, are estimated to be registered for funded early learning and childcare (ELC), and 18% of these child registrations are of children with additional support needs. The 2022 Parents’ Survey found that 85% of parents with children with additional support needs were satisfied that funded ELC meets their child’s needs.
Although we do not have data on how many hours of funded ELC these children are accessing, given these overall figures we envisage that a significant proportion of eligible children with additional support needs are currently accessing their entitlement to 1,140 hours of funded childcare. We are currently developing the ELC census and are looking to collect more information on the characteristics of children accessing funded ELC, and the hours they are registered for.
Audit Scotland’s report on progress of delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion of ELC, published on 1 June 2023, recommended that further work should be undertaken on the extent to which children with additional support needs are not accessing funded ELC, the reasons for this, and the extent of any unmet needs. We are considering this recommendation further, with a view to ensuring that all children who are eligible to receive funded ELC can benefit from the 1,140 expansion.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to identify how much was spent by local authorities on phasing in additional hours of funded childcare between 2018-19 and 2021-22.
Answer
Routine spending information that councils report does not distinguish between spending on 600 hours of funded ELC and spending on the additional hours provided by the expansion. The Scottish Government has therefore gathered separate financial information on spending on the expansion from councils three times. However, despite best efforts, the information gathered does not provide a comprehensive picture of how much councils have spent specifically on the expansion at a national level. Measures are being taken by the Scottish Government to change reporting through local financial returns to produce more detailed information on how much councils have spent specifically on the provision of funded ELC.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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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.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18980 on 21 June 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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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.
Answer
Work is underway now and the current timescale for development completion of the SEEMiS Early Years IT platform is Jan-Mar 2024. The actual system “go live” date is yet to be decided, with an options appraisal currently underway and scheduled for Project Review Board consideration over summer 2023.
