The report from the Accounts Commission reveals that raising the amount of free early learning childcare to 1,140 hours per year by 2021 is set to cost Scottish councils £1billion.
However, the SNP government’s own forecasting expects funding of the policy to be £840million – creating a spending black hole of £160million.
The report says there are ‘significant risks’ that councils will not be able to expand funded places due to issues such as workforce planning.
The government’s own estimates state that 8,000 additional whole time equivalent staff will be needed to deliver the expanded entitlement.
However the report says the Scottish Government ‘has not yet done enough to ensure they will be in place on time’.
The commitment to increase the hours of childcare entitlement by the end of this parliament, from 600 to 1140, was a key part of the SNP manifesto during the 2016 elections.
The report also details issues with the 600-hour entitlement, such as a postcode lottery in local provision.
Labour Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, Iain Gray, said:
“This independent report blows a £160million black hole in a flagship SNP Government policy.
“Raising the amount of free childcare families are entitled too has been a cornerstone of the SNP’s offer to families – but this report reveals that, not only does the Scottish Government not expect to fully fund it, but that it is also miles behind the levels of staff recruitment needed.
“This is what happens when childcare policy is written to fit on an election leaflet, rather than to fit around the lives of Scottish families.
“Increasing the availability and flexibility of childcare would have a huge difference, not just in terms of tackling poverty and the cost of living crisis but also in terms of fuelling economic growth.
“Instead, the SNP has slashed council budgets by £1.5 billion since 2011, and it is working families who will miss out.
“Labour’s alternative means using the tax powers of the Scottish Parliament to ask the richest to pay their fair share so we can fund local services, not continue to cut them.”
NOTES
The report is available here:https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/UKAS/2018/02/12/file_attachments/957055/Early_learning_and_childcare.pdf