Three campaign groups have come together to call for an “urgent review” of childcare costs in Scotland, The Herald can exclusively reveal.

Pregnant Then Screwed, the Scottish Women’s Budget Group, and the National Day Nurseries Association say that the overwhelming majority of parents have received or are expecting an increase in their childcare costs, which the campaigners say “continue to spiral.”

According to their research, supported by Women in Data, more than 80% of Scottish parents are either already facing an increase in the cost of childcare or are anticipating such an increase in the near future.

Concerns have also been raised about the accessibility of childcare with almost half of parents reporting waiting lists of six months or longer for local provision, and a third saying that people in their area face a nine-month waiting list.

The campaigners say that “as a result of these challenges, less than a third of parents believe the Scottish Government will deliver on its promise to expanded funded childcare for children under three.”

They have now opened an official parliamentary petition calling for the government to “conduct an independent review of childcare costs and availability in Scotland”.

The Herald has previously reported that childcare costs are a ‘primary reason’ for 40 percent of abortions in Scotland.

Carole Erskine, Head of Policy & Campaigns in Scotland for Pregnant Then Screwed, said that the new data “shows that childcare in Scotland is neither affordable, nor accessible” and accused the Scottish Government of paying “lip service to this issue” without taking enough meaningful action.

She continued: “Meanwhile, waiting lists are so long, some parents are forced to put their baby's name down for a place when they are in their first trimester of pregnancy. Parents who are already accessing funded childcare are also seeing an increase in fees to account for underfunding from local authorities - 85% say that their fees have increased or they are about to increase.”

“There is little point in throwing more money at a broken system when we don't understand the problem. That is why we are calling on the Scottish Government to commission an independent review of the early learning and childcare system.  The review would make detailed recommendations on how to ensure costs come down, whilst availability increases, and quality improves, placing efficiency at the heart of any future plan.

“Families are not getting the childcare they want or need in Scotland. It is unaffordable and inaccessible for many, especially in some rural areas where there is nothing available at all for children under 3. We already know that 4 in 5 Scottish parents say their childcare costs are the same or more than their income. This comes as childcare settings are buckling under the financial pressures of underfunding from local authorities, making childcare a postcode lottery for many parents too.”

“Just a third of Scottish parents currently have any faith in the system. Confidence is at an all-time low. Families need to be listened to, we need to understand the issues in Scotland before we can come up with the solutions.”

Carmen Martinez, spokesperson for the Scottish Women’s Budget Group, said:

“Our Childcare Survey 2023 showed that 16% of those eligible for funded ELC were not able to access these hours due to a lack of flexibility in service provision. We also know through our work with Fa’side Women and Girls Group and Making Rights Real that families who qualify for the 1140 hours funded childcare raised that the way in which this was delivered locally impacted on women’s ability to find suitable work or to increase their earnings. This is why we support a review of the current ELC policy in Scotland.”

Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said: “Across Scotland there is a postcode lottery for providers with some councils paying well but many not giving sufficient funding to enable nurseries to remain sustainable. Our survey earlier this year revealed that 70% of private providers were making a loss on funded places. Although on average, nurseries had a 12% increase in their staffing bill in April this year, they only increased their fees to parents by an average of 9%, trying to keep costs down as much as possible.

“When we researched the April funding rate uplifts to enable all providers to pay their staff £12 per hour, a third of local authorities had still not decided how much they would be paying providers. Two local authorities were giving rates well short of the expected 7.6% uplift needed.

“For years now NDNA has been highlighting the workforce crisis and in particular the issue of qualified staff leaving private providers to work in maintained sector provision where the pay is better. All providers must be paid sustainable rates to cover their costs, invest in staff training and be able to retain their staff. Private providers deliver a significant proportion of places and enable parental choice and flexibility so it’s vital they are fully supported to deliver high quality early learning and childcare places to those who need them.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said:

“The hours of funded ELC on offer have almost doubled since 2021, making Scotland the only part of the UK to offer 1,140 hours a year of funded ELC to all 3 and 4-year-olds and eligible 2-year-olds regardless of their parents’ working status. 

“The Scottish Government is investing £1 billion this financial year to deliver 1,140 hours despite the very challenging financial circumstances we are facing as a result of budget decisions made by the UK Government.

“We are also continuing to work with local authorities to increase uptake of our funded childcare offer for two-year-olds, and testing new systems of childcare through our investment in six local authorities with Early Adopter Communities, delivering targeted childcare for families who need it most.”

The petition for a review of childcare in Scotland can be accessed here.