Flagship childcare pledge at risk

The coronavirus pandemic and Brexit could both impact on the Scottish Government’s flagship childcare policy, the Auditor General for Scotland has warned.

Ministers remain committed to increasing the amount of free early learning and childcare pre-school children can receive to 1,140 hours a year, although in light of Covid-19 ministers are no longer requiring councils to provide this by August.

Auditor General Caroline Gardner said the pandemic could mean more children become eligible for the increased number of free hours, just as work on building new nurseries and expanding existing premises has been halted.

She said: “The progress in completing the infrastructure is likely to have been delayed. A lot of it was due to be completed in the summer, we know that construction has effectively been on hold since the end of March.

“That construction will have been delayed.

“Beyond that, though, there could well be an increase in the number of eligible two-year-olds.”

On top of this, she said Brexit could make it harder for nurseries to recruit the staff they need.

to allow staff to work from home if possible, but a far wider range of workplaces has been allowed to reopen.

Care homes: Under the new phase in Scotland, consideration will be given to a phased resumption of visits to care homes, starting with outdoor visiting, where it is clinically safe to do so. However, no timescale has been set. As in England, family and friends are advised not to visit care homes except for next of kin in exceptional situations.

Weddings: The new phase allows for marriages and civil partnerships to take place in Scotland, albeit in outdoor settings and with “minimal number of attendees”. Weddings are still not permitted in England.