To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to give every child access to affordable child care.

The Scottish Executive Childcare Strategy aims to provide affordable, accessible, good quality child care for children aged 0 to 14 in all neighbourhoods. Responsibility for addressing local child care needs rests with the local authorities in conjunction with Childcare Partnerships.

The Executive is providing £16.75 million in the current financial year (2002-03) to local authorities to meet the aims of the strategy. In the Scottish Budget 2003-06 the Executive announced significant increases in Childcare Strategy funding. The allocations for the period are shown in the following table.

The Executive has also made available £20 million Social Justice funding in years 2004-05 and 2005-06 for child care. This is to help parents in the most disadvantaged areas get into education or employment.