Humza Yousaf to expand childcare provision as part of his Programme for Government

Humza Yousaf has pledged to tackle the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis when setting out his Programme for Government later today.  

The first minister will announce an expansion to childcare provision, increasing access to more families as part of a package to tackle poverty.  

The proposal will be outlined as part of this year’s Programme for Government, which will focus on poverty reduction and offering practical help and support, particularly to families who are most in need.

Yousaf will also announce greater support for frontline staff employed in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) early years learning and childcare.  

Speaking ahead of his statement, Yousaf said: “Helping families deal with cost-of-living pressures is one of my key priorities, and providing further funding to expand childcare provision will help deliver that.

“Scotland already has the most generous and high-quality early learning and childcare offer in the UK and the measures I am setting out today will help make it even fairer and more affordable for those who need it most.                              

“Supporting families is not only fundamentally the right thing to do, it is critical to our mission – affordable and accessible childcare supports employment, and the economy, and secure and sustainable employment helps lift families out of poverty.

“This will be a Programme for Government focused on what really matters to the people of Scotland – reducing poverty, delivering growth, helping to tackle climate change, and providing high quality public services.”