I move Amendment 65 that stands in my name.

- Mr Hood, if we are to place additional requirements on parents as part of these reforms – a question which amendment 40 addressed – we need to make sure there is adequate support for them before these conditions kick in. I recognise the need to get people into work, particularly in the current times and disagree with the premise of the last amendment because this has to be about an exchange and is not something for nothing.

However, with the prospective bill on Child Poverty and the difficulty of reaching our targets on this, we need to make sure children are at the forefront of our minds when we consider the effect of the Bill. We cannot put an extra strain on parents that they cannot afford, which would mean that they are left worse off by a system that must aim in the other direction.

- With the increasing obligations to be placed on parents who are unemployed there is widespread concern over the lack of high quality, flexible and affordable childcare in Scotland. This amendment seeks to make sure this is considered before strict conditions are placed on parents.

- The work on this amendment has been done by the Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform which includes over 40 organisations working with people experiencing exclusion and poverty in Scotland. This amendment has attracted media coverage north of the border due to their excellent work and I have liaised with Citizens Advice Scotland over this amendment.

This provision seeks to make sure that unless a claimant has access to good, affordable childcare they will not be faced with a Catch 22 decision between benefits and making sure their children are looked after.

According to figures from One Parent Families Scotland, more than 50,000 children could be affected by the planned changes.

We must remember that:

- There is no legal entitlement to childcare in Scotland, unlike England and Wales.

- No subsidy for childcare for 2 year olds in Scotland, unlike England and Wales.

- There are limited means of systematically monitoring Scottish-wide provision, so it is difficult to get a clear picture of the situation, but we know that:

In the period 2006-08 there was a fall in childcare centres and child-minders in Scotland, from 10,388 to 10,322.

Cost, particularly for single parents and those couples with low incomes, is the biggest hurdle to getting a good job with an income to support their family.

So it is of real concern that figures from the Daycare Trust show that the cost of out of school childcare in Scotland increased by 29 per cent in the last 12 months, while the cost of a nursery place rose by 12 per cent.

- The DWP document ‘Impact Assessment of the Welfare Reform Bill’ published in January emphasised the importance of childcare and recognised the risks of imposing obligations on parents. However it stated these were mitigated by the improvements in England and Wales as a result of the Childcare Act, which places a duty on local authorities in these countries to secure sufficient childcare for working parents. There is no such duty in Scotland.

- My honourable friend, the Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform, recognised this in the second reading of the Bill, stating:

‘the measures are not, as billed ‘any job at any cost’ regardless of whether there is childcare provision or other elements. I take on board what many of my Scottish friends have said about the paucity of childcare provision in some areas of Scotland, not least Glasgow.’

Whilst this recognition is welcome, we need to do make sure this Bill takes account of childcare availability so these are not simply warm words. I look to the Minister to address these concerns.

- There is a precedent for ensuring childcare arrangements in Scotland are taken into account in legislation. In 2000 the implementation of provisions in the Children Leaving Care Act, regarding the removal of benefit entitlement, was delayed in Scotland for four years. This was because removing these entitlements was based on the provision of alternative care arrangements in England and Wales which were not in place in Scotland.

Conclusion

In conclusion Mr Hood, I would emphasise that there are clear differences in parts of the UK such as Scotland in childcare provision. We clearly need to take great care in making sure conditions placed on parents are not counterproductive in helping them in to work and that we do not leave them in a Catch 22 situation over childcare.

The Government has recognised this, and the ball is in their court to make sure these fears do not become reality.

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