Councils to share £50m nursery care funding

Councils will share more than £50 million of funding to help deliver the Scottish Government’s pledge of more free nursery care, it has been announced.

Legislation currently going through Holyrood includes measures to increase the amount of free nursery provision for three and four-year-olds, and two-year-olds in care, from 475 hours to 600 hours a year.

The Government announced in September that the measures set out in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill will be funded with £190 million.

Children’s minister Aileen Campbell said £50.8 million of this money will be given to local authorities to help them deliver the additional nursery care in 2014/15.

Councils will also have to ask parents about the nursery care they want for their child and offer a choice – for example two full days instead of a few hours every day – to help parents who want to return to work.

Ms Campbell said the extra care could save parents up to £700 per child per year.

“This saving will help families manage household costs without compromising the quality of care their children receive or forcing parents to make difficult choices about whether they can afford nursery or other necessities,” she said.

“By next year, all councils must ask parents what they want and offer more choice. Together with the extra hours, this could mean two full days of nursery a week instead of a few hours a morning or afternoon – giving mums, in particular, more choices and supporting more women back into work or training.”