Since 2014, parents of nursery aged children in Scotland have been promised 1140 hours of funded childcare by August 2020, a substantial and financially liberating increase from the existing 600 hours.  During March 2020, in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Scottish Government announced the removal of the statutory implementation date, in effect giving local authorities new discretion to determine if they wish to proceed as planned.  This has caused a hugely inequitable situation in Scotland - a postcode lottery - whereby families in some areas of the country are receiving a financial benefit measured in thousands of pounds, which is being withheld from others.  On the evening of Friday 5th June, via a series of ambiguous Tweets and a Facebook post on a local group, Falkirk Council appeared to announce the delay of 1140 hours in the Falkirk area for at least the 2020/21 academic year, instead offering a revised and, indeed, possibly reduced from 600 hours pattern.  At this point the website had not been updated and no further information was available to parents to provide clarity as to how this would impact them or be implemented.

We, the undersigned, wish to put on record in the strongest terms our dissatisfaction with how this matter has been handled.  This is a subject of the utmost importance to parents not just on a financial level, but in terms of what is best for our children and their development.  For its seemingly open-ended delay in Falkirk to have been communicated in the manner it has is completely unacceptable and has caused substantial worry and distress for parents. With the people of Falkirk looking ahead to how they can ‘get back to work’ the approach taken by Falkirk Council creates significant barriers to its residents being able to do so.

We call upon Falkirk Council to clearly explain their perceived justification for disadvantaging their residents in this manner.  A number of other local authorities are proceeding to roll out 1140 as planned, subject to Covid-19 recovery restrictions, citing their pride in being able to do so and their preparedness in infrastructure, recruitment and procedures.  Where is Falkirk Council's pride in delivering for their residents?  Despite the impending implementation date being only a matter of months away at the point when Covid-19 struck, were Falkirk Council not as prepared as these other authorities?  If not, why?  As we are gearing up to move into Phase 2, it is expected Falkirk Council would use this time to finalise preparations to implement the flagship policy for the benefit of its residents as a matter of urgency as soon as it is safe to do so in line with Covid-19 recovery restrictions, which does not seem to be the case. The people of Falkirk deserve a clear and well-reasoned explanation, which we trust will be forthcoming.

Most importantly, we respectfully request that Falkirk Council review this decision.  It is a matter of fact that many of the nursery and ELC settings in Falkirk are ready to deliver 1140 hours.  Some have been doing so since 2018 and 2019.  In the event it is ultimately decided that 1140 hours is not realistically achievable, surely there is scope for at least enhanced provision - some form of compromise and flexibility in the hours that can be delivered.

Jodie Barron and Gary Wilson 10.06.20