By Professor John Robertson
From the Guardian today, the above, and:
The deployment of the government’s childcare scheme to tens of thousands more families is facing “significant uncertainties” and may struggle to meet its own targets, according to a report by Whitehall’s spending watchdog.
The National Audit Office revealed the Department for Education (DfE) had assessed the likelihood of being able to deliver the funded childcare places it promised for September 2024 and 2025 as “amber/red problematic”.
Even if the government managed to successfully navigate the multiple difficulties ahead, it was not clear whether the policy would achieve its primary aim of getting more parents back into the labour force, the watchdog said.
The NAO report, described as “utterly damning” by the early years sector, paints a picture of a department working at speed to meet ambitious targets without vital input from the sector or pilot studies that would have helped with planning.
I can see no similarly damning reports of the Scottish scheme, but in March 2024,:
Coram Family and Childcare’s 23rd annual survey reveals continued decrease in the availability of childcare in England, across all areas of provision. The Childcare Survey 2024 is based on surveys from local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales, that were returned to Coram Family and Childcare between November 2023 and February 2024. A total of 184 councils returned data generating a response rate of 89%. https://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/families-facing-growing-childcare-shortages-while-costs-rise-7
That’s the only mention of the Scottish scheme so we can assume there are no major problems here bar this very local one:
Not for the first time, something very strange has been going on in the City of Edinburgh Council’s education department, but this time the implications go well beyond the city boundaries. As the principal employment hub for east Central Scotland, thousands commute to the Capital every day for work, and that’s because Edinburgh has had a dire shortage of homes they can afford for as long as anyone can remember.
For years Edinburgh has failed to have enough houses built, so the demand has been met by the peripheral authorities in places like Livingston, Broxburn and soon, Winchburgh. It’s only to be expected that many of these families will have young children who need looking after while their parents are at work. But this year, Edinburgh Council decided to phase out such cross-boundary places if they were provided by private operators contracted to the council, but omitted this crucial information from a report to councillors in January. All it said was that the council’s own facilities would be maximised “by reducing the need to commission external provision and providing places for children from other local authorities whose parents/carers work in Edinburgh.”
Now remind me who runs Edinburgh Council? Yes, it’s another of those unholy Labour/Tory alliances.
Oh, and Labour nationally including their Scottish branch? This:
Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said that Labour will not commit to continuing the Government’s £4bn plans to expand free childcare.
The plans, which saw eligible parents of one and two-year-olds offered 30 hours of free childcare a week by 2025, were first announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his 2023 spring Budget.
But concerns have been raised over the future of the plans due to staffing shortages in the sector, with some estimates suggesting that around 100,000 extra staff will be required to meet the additional demand as a result of the offering.
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/labour-no-commitment-childcare-plan-free-hours-2977220
Disclosure Scotland! Come on chaps, this is made for you.
Talking-up Scotland / Scottish media fact checking is like shooting fish in a barrel 
Yep, LabCons Edinburgh council have taken a wrecking ball to the city in many ways since they joined as a coalition council (keeping the SNP council out who won a majority of seats!) who had started to repair many decades of Lab/Cons damage and neglect in certain areas, including extending the trams to Leith and putting land aside for much needed allotments, (which the LabCons have scrapped). I read there are 16,000 ‘air B&B’s in Edinburgh! That’ absolutley crazy.
On a whinging personal note, partly, my shopping delivery driver recently was very late, no problem, but he said it’s because the council had blocked a major roundabout/road route into the city at Cameron Toll, a route which also serves the ERI. He said that as a result the shopping mall at Cameron Toll is all but empty, as no one can get to it. Not sure how long they blocked that for or if it’s still blocked, usually it’s for MINOR repairs or for no apparent reason at all. They just dig up the pavement or small patrch of road and close off major roads causing traffic congestion and terrible pollution. It’s horrendous.
I wonder if they plan on closing the shopping mall down, and handing contracts to developers for ‘apartments’ etc…let’s just see shall we.
CEC, since plonking themselves in power; roads blocked sometimes for weeks and months, pavements replaced where they definitely did not need to be, pot holes like the craters on the moon, not repaired and at major routes, in fact very dangerous. One street near us, has had lamposts replaced but they have left the old ones in place, barriers scattered and surrounding them, paving stones upturned, streets full of rubbish, I could go on! The city is looking a mess, theres cr*p graffiti everywhere, and have seen some young guys literally placing empty cans onto the streets while passing bins, (they weren’t too happy when I pulled them up about it!) it’s almost as if they are doing that for a specific reason or being paid to do that because it’s so widespread and happening daily in the Newtown, I kid you not.
Might it be convenient, and political advantage, to have Scotland’s capital where the parliament sits, looking shabby, messy, trashed, destitute and neglected, while the SNP are the democratically elected party in that government…hmm. As one US president said, can’t remember which one, if you think a CONspiracy is going on, think ten times worse!
I have many photos of the mess, graffiti, roadblocks etc, if I can get time to put onto the computer I will shall some.
I would not put it past LAB/CONS to wreck services etc in councils where they have taken control against the wishes and votes of the people, it suits their BritNat agenda to say the least.
I wonder does England have the same system re councils and coalitions? Not sure..
Have a good evening, John and everyone at TUS, enjoy the sunshine.
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The other factor which appears to be ignored by Edinburgh Council is the Edinburgh Bypass. Thousands of new houses have been built, and continue to be built,all over East Lothian and in Dalkeith & Tranent perhaps to house the people being displaced from the city by the Airbnbs. But nothing has been done to upgrade the Bypass to cope with the increase in traffic caused by people moving out of Edinburgh to live but travelling back into Edinburgh to work.
The Scottish Gov has opened a couple of new railway stations in East Lothian but while welcome they are hardly likely to address the nightmare that the Bypass has become.
How can you give the go-ahead for all those new houses but not upgrade the infrastructure such as the Bypass.
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You too Arty!
John
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