Policy on funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) for eligible two‑year‑olds: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
1. Policy Rationale and Evidence Base
- Any documentation, briefing papers, ministerial submissions, impact assessments, or internal analyses outlining the rationale for extending funded ELC to two‑year‑olds based on parental benefit status.
- Any modelling or evidence used to support the statement that this policy would support parents/carers to return to employment.
2. Evaluation and Impact Data
- Any evaluations, data, reports, or reviews—internal or external—assessing the impact of the eligible‑two‑year‑old policy, specifically regarding parental employment outcomes, reduction in worklessness, uptake and engagement trends among eligible families, and any measurable social, educational, or economic benefits.
- Any information comparing anticipated outcomes with actual outcomes from 2014 to the present.
3. Statistical Information
- Annual figures (2014–present) on numbers of children registered as eligible two‑year‑olds, numbers of children accessing funded ELC, the overall cost of delivering the policy since implementation, local authority‑level breakdowns (where available), and datasets used to monitor and evaluate policy performance.
4. Future Planning and Policy Review
- Any documentation relating to planned or ongoing reviews of the eligible‑two‑year‑old criteria.
- Any options papers, proposals, or consultation materials considering amendments to the policy rationale or eligibility criteria.
Response
I have broken down your requests further to help show responses to different elements:
|
Question reference |
Wording in original |
|
1) |
Any documentation, briefing papers, ministerial submissions, impact assessments, or internal analyses outlining the rationale for extending funded ELC to two‑year‑olds based on parental benefit status. |
|
2) |
Any modelling or evidence used to support the statement that this policy would support parents/carers to return to employment. |
|
3) |
Any evaluations, data, reports, or reviews—internal or external—assessing the impact of the eligible‑two‑year‑old policy, specifically regarding parental employment outcomes, reduction in worklessness, uptake and engagement trends among eligible families, and any measurable social, educational, or economic benefits. |
|
4) |
Any information comparing anticipated outcomes with actual outcomes from 2014 to the present. |
|
5) |
Annual figures (2014–present) on numbers of children registered as eligible two‑year‑olds, numbers of children accessing funded ELC, |
|
6) |
the overall cost of delivering the policy since implementation, local authority‑level breakdowns (where available), |
|
7) |
and datasets used to monitor and evaluate policy performance. |
|
8) |
Any documentation relating to planned or ongoing reviews of the eligible‑two‑year‑old criteria. |
|
9) |
Any options papers, proposals, or consultation materials considering amendments to the policy rationale or eligibility criteria. |
I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested. This is provided in three separate documents:
- Table 1: information relating to question 1 (our reference).
- Table 2: information relating to question 2 (our reference).
- Table 3: information relating to question 9 (our reference).
The information you have requested in question 5 is published annually and is available from Early learning and childcare: statistics - gov.scot. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. The reasons why we do not have the information are explained below.
The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for in question 3. We are not aware of anything meeting the specific terms of this question. Our searches on questions 1 and 2 were designed to find any such information if it existed. No information was found. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested for question 3. You may however be interested in the following published information:
- Implementing Early Learning and Childcare under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014: Progress Update - gov.scot
- Early learning and childcare expansion: evaluation - gov.scot
The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for in question 4. We are not aware of any relevant information on this and our searches on questions 1 and 2 were designed to find any such information if it existed. No information was found. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested for question 4. The above evaluation of the most recent expansion to 1140 hours may be of interest.
The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for in question 6 because this data is not collected or collated. An approximation may be available in the expenditure data for funded ELC as a whole, which is published annually at: Local government finance: statistics - gov.scot. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested for question 6.
The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for in question 7. We are not aware of this data being collected and our searches on questions 1 and 2 were designed to find any such information if it existed. No information was found. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested for question 7.
The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for in question 8. There are no planned or ongoing reviews of the eligible‑two‑year‑old criteria. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested for question 8.
An exemption under section s.38(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested.
You will notice in the documents provided we have marked where this exemption applies. This is because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names and contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
An exemption under section 30(b) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views) applies to some of the information you have requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. This exemption recognises the need for Ministers and officials to have a private space within which to discuss and explore options, including before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of free and frank discussions will substantially inhibit such discussions in the future.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption.
About FOI
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Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG