Council nurseries not open long enough for working parents, campaigners say

Only one in 10 council-run nurseries provide sufficient hours of childcare to allow parents to work full time, campaigners have claimed.

Of a total 1,369 such centres across Scotland, only 139 are open from 8am to 6pm or longer, figures released under Freedom of Information showed.

Campaigners at the group Fair Funding For Our Kids requested details on nursery opening hours from all of Scotland's 32 local authorities.

In East Renfrewshire all 17 of the council run nurseries were open between 8am and 6pm, with 67% in East Dunbartonshire also operating these hours.

But 19 councils have no nurseries which are open for business between 8am and 6pm, including Edinburgh City Council.

In Glasgow City Council, Scotland's largest local authority, almost two fifths (39%) of council nurseries are open between 8am and 6pm.

Carolyn Lochhead, parent volunteer at thr group, said: “Our research shows that the system is just not set up for working parents - the very people the Scottish Government say they want to help.

“If you don't have grandparents nearby who can help with drop-off and pick-up, then it's almost impossible to make use of a council nursery place.''

The campaign group published the figures days after public spending watchdogs said there were “significant risks'' to the Scottish Government's plan to almost double free early learning and childcare by 2020.

The SNP government has made a high profile pledge to increase paid-for nursery places from the current 600 hours to 1,140 for three and four-year-olds, and eligible two-year-olds, by August 2020, equivalent to about 30 hours a week in term time.

But an Accounts Commission report found: “There are significant risks that councils will not be able to expand funded early learning and childcare (ELC) to 1,140 hours by 2020.''

Fair Funding for our Kids was set up in 2014 to ensure all parents can benefit from the childcare their youngsters are legally entitled to.

A spokeswoman for the local government body Cosla said: “The Audit Scotland report identified that all councils have been increasingly flexible provision of early learning and childcare since 2014.

“Most importantly, the report identifies that council provision is the highest quality provision available for our youngest children.

“Cosla are clear that the quality of provision is our main priority and we will continue to extend flexibility of provision with a clear line that quality of learning must not be sacrificed at the door of extended hours.''

Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: “The SNP obsession with the total number of hours available, rather than whether those hours are accessible to families, simply is not working.

“Increasing the availability and flexibility of childcare would make 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 are missing out.'