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This week we’ve been reporting on the impact of childcare costs on families in Scotland, and some of the statistics are incredibly stark.
The most shocking is the fact that 40% of women who have had an abortion said that the cost of childcare was not just a factor, but the “primary reason” for their decision. While speaking to people for our coverage, the word that came up again and again was ‘heart-breaking’ – but if that’s how the statistic makes us feel, just imagine what it was like for the women involved.
Looking past that headline figure, the new research also found plenty more for us to be worried about:
But hold on a second – hasn’t Scotland just massively expanded free childcare?
Well yes, it certainly has. As the government pointed out in response to our coverage of this matter (and as we mentioned in the article itself) all three and four year olds, and some two year olds, are eligible for 1140 hours of fully-funded childcare per year in Scotland. That works out to about thirty hours per week during the school year, which of course is roughly the same amount of time that older children spend in primary or secondary school each week.
The huge increase in free early learning and childcare is,........