The Scottish Executive has pledged to continue supplying additional resources to rural local authorities to provide early education and childcare. From April 2002, this funding will no longer be held centrally by the Executive but will be passed directly to local authorities as part of their settlement. At present, a special pre-school supplement worth 6m in total is available for rural areas and this will continue, as will a specifically rural element of 1.5m included within the 13.75m fund for implementing the national childcare strategy. Overall, the Executive is to commit almost 140m to pre-school education and childcare next year.
The Scottish Executive has pledged to continue supplying additional resources to rural local authorities to provide early education and childcare. From April 2002, this funding will no longer be held centrally by the Executive but will be passed directly to local authorities as part of their settlement. At present, a special pre-school supplement worth 6m in total is available for rural areas and this will continue, as will a specifically rural element of 1.5m included within the 13.75m fund for implementing the national childcare strategy. Overall, the Executive is to commit almost Pounds 140m to pre-school education and childcare next year.
