Childcare in Scotland at breaking point, campaigners claim

Childcare in Scotland is at “breaking point”, campaigners have claimed as a new survey found just over half of mothers said the costs meant it did not make financial sense for them to return to work.

Research by the group Pregnant Then Screwed found more than a third of mothers (34.5%) said they often found themselves having to choose between paying for childcare or household essentials.

More than a quarter (27.8%) of those surveyed said they had to rely on going into debt, or withdrawing money from savings, to help them cover childcare costs.

Two thirds (66.1%) meanwhile said their childcare costs were either the same as their income or higher.

And 51% agreed that after paying for childcare, it did not make financial sense for them to go to work.

The research was carried out as part of Pregnant Then Screwed’s 2026 State of the Nation survey – with more than 1,100 families in Scotland taking part.

Speaking as the findings were published, Carole Erskine, head of policy and campaigns for the charity in Scotland, said: “We’re reaching a breaking point for childcare in Scotland.

“Parents, providers and staff are buckling under the pressure of an underfunded, confusing and complex system that is leaving many Scottish families under significant financial strain.”

As a result, she said some parents were having to make “significant changes to their work roles or quit altogether”, while others can be “forced into debt to make ends meet”.

Ms Erskine said: “The spirit of universal funded childcare from the age of three years old has been lost in Scotland, and parents are losing faith in the system to offer them the support they need.”

The charity is campaigning for youngsters to receive funded childcare from nine months old, and for the costs to be capped at 5% of the family income.

This would be “a workable, practical solution that would make sense not just for families, but the economy too”, Ms Erskine insisted.

She added: “Scotland needs a childcare system that is genuinely affordable, universally accessible and sustainably funded to deliver high-quality provision for every family.”

Current childcare systems in Scotland mean most youngsters can get 1,140 hours of free care a year from the age of three.

But in the run-up to the Holyrood election, the SNP has pledged to spend more than £500 million boosting childcare if it is returned to power.

SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney has promised a “transformational” extension of free childcare, which would see support made available for every child in the country, from nine months old through to the end of primary school, by the end of the next parliamentary term.

This help would be available to parents 52 weeks a year, Mr Swinney told the SNP conference recently.

SNP MSP Fulton McGregor said: “Since the SNP Government came to office, we have transformed childcare in Scotland.

“But we have heard the calls from parents across the country who are struggling to juggle work and childcare, who are struggling with costs and who want the system to work around their needs.

“That is why the First Minister confirmed that the SNP will extend childcare for every child from nine months until the end of primary school, all year round, meaning every family gets financial support, from between £1,400 to over £11,000 dependent on need.

“A re-elected SNP Government will finish the job on childcare, support parents with the cost of living and deliver the best start in life for our children.”