Why are less Scots having babies? The answer is very obvious

Scots are not having enough babies.

In 2023, statistics showed the birth rate had fallen to 1.3 babies per woman - a historic low. At this point, our population is being sustained by migration.

There are a lot of reasons for this, but poor parental leave and extortionate childcare costs are glaringly obvious factors here.

This has been a hot topic in Holyrood this week.

Less Scots are having babies.

On Thursday, Green MSP Mark Ruskell said he was “embarrassed” at only being able to offer his staff two weeks of paternity leave. He said: “I know the law is two weeks, but public institutions should go further. Reflecting on my own experience, two weeks is just not enough.”

Two days earlier, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said too many women were being forced out of politics because of poor childcare options.

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She said: “If we can’t keep a hold of mums in politics, we lose a really strong voice for other mums out there struggling with childcare. If we can’t do it for mums in Parliament, we can’t do it for mums outside Parliament.”

Two weeks ago the campaign group The Dad Shift demonstrated en-masse outside Holyrood demanding better parental leave policies.

Most of these policies are reserved to Westminster, but it is clear there is a desire for change amongst Scots, including inside the devolved Scottish Parliament.

Almost everyone - with the exception of UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch - will agree that maternity and paternity leave is far too low. Statutory maternity leave after the first six weeks is just £187.18 a week - for fathers, it is two weeks at the same rate.

Considering the median weekly earnings in Scotland in 2024 was £738.70, it is obvious new parents are taking a massive financial hit here. But the length of time is a problem too, particularly for new dads.

An obvious flaw in the system comes when you look at something as common as Caesarean sections. It takes around six weeks to recover and yet, for four of those weeks, mums are expected to get on with things on their own.

We also need to remember that if dads take more time off work, mothers are less likely to take career breaks, which in turn would help close the gender pay gap.

The Dad Shift wants to see six weeks of paternity leave at regular pay as the norm. This is what has been recommended to Westminster’s women and equalities committee.

Across Europe, the average paternity pay is eight weeks and the UK is ranked at the bottom.

Let us look at another sticking point - childcare. Yes, in Scotland parents can get 1,140 hours of funded childcare, but for most this is only after the child turns three.

It also works out at around 22 hours a week, somewhat short of the up to 40-hour working week for the average Scot.

The campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed found 75 per cent of mothers paying for childcare say it does not make financial sense for them to work.

One in three are in debt because of childcare and one in four say childcare costs are more than 75 per cent of their take home pay.

Four in ten Scots who have an abortion cite spiralling childcare costs as one of their reasons.

Perhaps the dwindling birth rate could be fixed with something as obvious as making it an easier place to be a parent - better leave and better childcare.