Question reference: S5W-25052
- Asked by: Alison Harris, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 30 August 2019
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Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 30 September 2019
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the revenue funding allocated to local authorities for the expansion of funded childcare to 1,140 hours includes provision for the reported increases of up to 50% in wage costs since 2016 in private, voluntary and independent sector settings.
Answer
The Scottish Government and COSLA agreed a multi-year funding package which includes funding to enable the payment of sustainable rates to funded providers delivering the funded entitlement from August 2020 – including funding to enable payment of at least the real Living Wage to all childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement.
In April 2019 we published Funding Follows the Child and the National Standard for Early Learning and Childcare Providers: Guidance for Setting Sustainable Rates from August 2020 to support local authorities to set a sustainable local rate for the delivery of the funded hours from the full national roll-out of 1140 hours of funded ELC entitlement from August 2020.