New figures show reduction in childcare services

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie has today warned that the Scottish Government’s failure to develop and support all kinds of childcare is undermining commitments to expand provision across Scotland.

His comments come as a new report from the Care Inspectorate reveals:

• There were 3,514 daycare of children services as of 31 December 2022, 59 fewer compared to 2021.  

• The average size of daycare of children services continued to increase, rising from 50.3 places in 2021 to 51.2 in 2022.

• The capacity in early learning and childcare (including childminding services) decreased by 1.3%, from 204,700 in 2021 to 201,960 registered places at 31 December 2022. The decrease of places in 2022 was driven primarily by childminding services where capacity decreased by 2,830 places.

Commenting on the figures, Mr Rennie said:

"It was wholly predictable that there would be a cut in the capacity of early learning and childcare. The Scottish Government were warned about the impact of the inadequate funding levels for the private, voluntary and independent sector.

"The First Minister needs to deliver on his promise to reform the funding arrangements before the situation gets any worse.

"These services can be transformative for parents and children but only if they are available locally and flexible enough to fit round busy people’s busy lives.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want an expansion of publicly funded childcare so that people can take on more employment opportunities. This should be backed up by increased support for private, voluntary and independent nurseries, preventing a loss of staff from the sector and giving parents more choice when accessing care.”