Provision of childcare and holiday hunger among budget talking points

One of the headlines of this year’s budget proposals was funding to finance the 350 extra staff who will take forward the Scottish Government’s free childcare policy in Fife.

All three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds will have access to 1,140 hours of free early learning and childcare from August this year, and Fife Council’s budget will help see that pledge through.

Around £31.5 million of the £47m in specific grants allocated by the Scottish Government will be spent on early years and childcare, with work being done across the region on ensuring its readiness to meet August’s deadline.

Education convener Fay Sinclair said: “This year’s budget will provide children in Fife with more of the highquality early learning that can make a significant contribution to their development, and represents a huge increase in funding for education.

“While the education directorate can’t be immune to the difficult decisions we need to make to balance the books, I’m really proud that this year we are delivering record investment in education and providing new jobs in every area of Fife.

“Evidence shows investment in early years plays a very important part in closing the attainment gap and by offering a variety of different hours and settings, as well as working with partner providers such as nurseries, playgroups and childminders, parents will have increased flexibility and access to high-quality care for their children.”

“I’m not denying difficult decisions have to be taken, but it’s great to see significant funding in education.

“We would do a great disservice to council staff if we didn’t recognise the impact 1,140 hours will have on our children.”

Ms Sinclair also pointed out investment for music tuition which will see a sibling discount introduced, offering a 50% cut in fees for second or subsequent children in families.

Meanwhile, plans featured in the Conservatives’ budget amendment to scrap the Café Inc project, which provided more than 130,000 meals over school holidays last year, proved another huge talking point.

The Tories’ proposals described Café Inc as “suboptimal” and advocated more targeted holiday hunger intervention in partnership with thirdsector providers to save money.

However, several councillors leapt to Café Inc’s defence, saying it had targeted those who needed it most.

Those included former Conservative turned independent councillor Linda Holt, who said: “When it was first suggested I likened it to soup kitchens but I was wrong about that.

“They are incredibly important, not just for those who are hungry but the families who are isolated.”