North East Lib Dem MSP makes maiden speech on childcare
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for the North East Yi-pei Chou Turvey has used her maiden speech in the Scottish Parliament to highlight the gaps in childcare across Scotland, as she called for better provision to give parents more choice and help grow the economy.
In their manifesto, Scottish Liberal Democrats committed to prioritising working families in the extension of funded childcare.
The party also want a more flexible and fairer childcare system. This includes giving parents who live in one local authority area but work in another the choice of where they send their child to nursery.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Yi-pei Chou Turvey said:
“Thank you Presiding Officer and colleagues.
“I am humbled and proud to be here today to serve the residents of the North East of Scotland. And that’s thanks to our helpers, family and friends, and also, people on the doorsteps who remembered the good days of Mike Rumbles, Nicol Stephen, Alison McInnes, and also, certainly, Robert Smith and Malcolm Bruce.
“Indeed, the Scottish Liberal Democrats are back in the North East of Scotland, and I heartily believe in our ability to be there alongside the residents and work for them, and with our businesses, education institutions, industries and third sector.
“But one topic that makes me want more than anything to help people have a better and fairer life is the debate we are having today on the motion on childcare.
“Colleagues, I hope we are all aware of the fact that the UK has the highest costs for childcare compared to the rest of Europe. And that is one of the reasons our economy is not progressing the way it should be.
“When parents have to stop working or reduce hours or take a step back in their careers, that’s not right. It is not right that they are only able to work the hours in the time they can, or fit childcare around the hours the job demands them to do.
“Many parents wait three years between children to afford childcare, or some do night shifts and weekend shifts to take turns to cover childcare, or some have to move closer to their relatives.
“I was surprised when the SNP manifesto landed with the promise of free childcare from nine months onwards.
“I also wonder why it took them so long to see the costs of childcare being a munro in the achievement for a fairer society and help to grow our economy.
“19 years in government, the babies born when the SNP arrived in power can have babies of their own now.
“With the Scottish Lib Dems our goals seem to be not as fancy. That’s because we budgeted the cost of our manifesto promises.
“We know, in my ward, the average cost for 8-5pm, 5 days a week is around £1,750 without the 1140 hours of funded childcare.
“We know, at the Scottish Liberal Democrats, that free breakfast clubs is nearly impossible to deliver in our rural regions, and any of you who work in any remote council will know that as well.
“We know that help with childcare needs to be serious, fair and help parents to work or go back to work.
“I know as a councillor in one of the most underfunded councils that decisions that we make here, in Holyrood, cascade down to local government, but the cost for underfunded councils to deliver the decisions are unfair, depending on where you live in Scotland. It increases the risk for local authorities, which are overstretched already, to have to find savings elsewhere.
“As a Scottish Liberal Democrat, I will scrutinize that those promises and the funding to deliver them follow. I will fight for all the hardworking families and their network of support- grandparents, friends, nurseries- to be able, finally, to aim and achieve the choice in life, and finally to feel that they are treated with fairness and equality.”