Childcare Scotland: Nursery construction delays left parents in Edinburgh and Midlothian with fewer childcare choices

A new report by Audit Scotland warns the early years sector remains ‘fragile’.

Construction delays left many parents in Edinburgh and Midlothian with fewer nursery choices than the rest of Scotland during the roll-out of a national childcare policy, a report has found.

The two local authorities were responsible for 11 of the 28 nursery building schemes in Scotland that were still not completed a year after a deadline. Seven of the delayed projects were in the City of Edinburgh Council area, more than any other part of the country, while four were in Midlothian.

The collapse of a contractor at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic left several Edinburgh nursery projects in limbo. Four of the schemes in the Scottish capital have now been completed, but three are still to open to pupils.

File photo of a child playing. Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

The issue was highlighted in a new report by Audit Scotland into progress with the delivery of the Scottish Government's £1 billion-a-year childcare policy.

In August 2021, the number of hours of funded childcare almost doubled, from 600 hours a year to 1,140 hours. It applies to all three and four-year-olds, and eligible two-year-olds, and is equivalent to about 30 hours a week in school term-time.

The Audit Scotland report found councils and partners did well to increase the coverage, despite challenges during the pandemic, although it said the sector remains "fragile" amid staffing and financial pressures.

In advance of the expansion, councils across Scotland identified 587 infrastructure projects that were needed to double the provision, and 87 per cent were completed on time by August 2021.

The proportion of the schemes that had been finished by August 2022 had increased to 95 per cent, but 28 projects were still outstanding.

Seven of them were in the City of Edinburgh Council, four were in Midlothian and three were in South Ayrshire, with one or two projects delayed in a further ten councils.

The report said: "It is important to note that where infrastructure is not complete, this does not mean that children are not receiving funded ELC [early learning and childcare], but it may reduce the flexibility and choice available to parents.

"Contingency arrangements were in place for these projects where required."

Glasgow-based CBC Ltd collapsed in 2020, delaying expansion schemes at Craigentinny, Granton, St John Vianney and St Mark’s primary schools, which all opened earlier this year.

Facilities at Ratho are expected to open in October, while extensions to Spinney Lane Nursery and Carrick Knowe Nursery have planning permission and are due to go to tender.

Other councils which had one or two schemes still to be completed by August 2022 were East Lothian, Fife, Highland, Moray, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth & Kinross, South Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Lothian.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “The Scottish Government has worked well with its partners to expand early learning and childcare hours. But the sector is fragile, which could affect flexibility and choice for families if funding and workforce risks are not addressed.

“An important next step for ministers is to effectively evaluate whether the policy has improved the lives of children and parents and delivered value for money. But that task has been made tougher by the effects of the pandemic.”