![\"Scottish](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/aa3377602c75d6a81a4cbda0ee80709d.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nMilitary families in Scotland are to receive additional childcare support worth up to \u00a36,000 per year under a UK Government scheme designed to close the \u201cbig gap\u201d in childcare provision between England and Scotland.<\/p>\n
The initiative, which will begin in September 2026, will see UK armed forces families in Scotland reimbursed for up to 30 hours of childcare per week for children aged between nine months and three years.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the scheme will save eligible military families in Scotland up to \u00a36,000 per child per year, and ensure they get the same Government-funded childcare support as forces families in England.<\/p>\n
Announcing the scheme during a visit to Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh on Thursday, UK Defence Secretary John Healey said \u201cit is right\u201d military families get the childcare support they need wherever they are posted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want forces families paying a penalty for serving in Scotland, and there\u2019s a big gap in the help for childcare costs for those serving in England to the big gap that the Scottish Government leaves in Scotland,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I\u2019m here to confirm that we will match the support in England.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means we\u2019ll cover the cost of 30 hours of childcare for children of working parents between the age of nine months until they hit their third birthday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives them extra options. It means parents can have a choice of serving and living in Scotland and bringing up their family here, which for some is made so much harder at the moment by the Scottish Government\u2019s failure.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said in England all working families with children aged between nine months and three years get 30 hours per week free childcare \u2013 but that north of the border \u201cthis Scottish nationalist government does not do that\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said it is \u2018vital\u2019 current and former military personnel and their families receive \u2018fair treatment\u2019 (Maja Smiejkowska\/PA)<\/p>\n
(Maja Smiejkowska)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t solve the problem for all Scots families, but I can solve the problem for those forces families that support those who serve in uniform, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m announcing today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, from September, the start of the new academic year, that support will be in place just as it is for England, for any families that are serving here in Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n
As well as matching childcare support in England, the MoD also said the scheme is a \u201cmajor step\u201d in the delivery of its pledge to renew the UK\u2019s contract with its armed forces.<\/p>\n
It added that childcare is cited as one of several factors affecting Armed Forces retention and morale, and that addressing it is part of the government\u2019s \u201cmission\u201d to fix the recruitment crisis.<\/p>\n
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: \u201cThe UK Government is renewing the country\u2019s contract with our military personnel, and this latest scheme will be transformative in helping tackle the cost of living for hundreds of Armed Forces families in Scotland.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is vital that those who serve \u2013 and have served \u2013 in the military and their families receive fair treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition to this latest measure \u2013 saving up to \u00a36,000 per year in childcare costs for each child \u2013 we have introduced a new housing strategy which will make homes fit for heroes, delivered the biggest pay rise for personnel in 20 years and put the Armed Forces Covenant into law.<\/p>\n
\u201cScotland plays such a vital role in the UK\u2019s defence and I am appreciative, and deeply proud of, our service personnel.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir professionalism and bravery are rightly respected worldwide, and it is our duty to back them.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: \u201cIt is for the MoD, as an employer, to decide what childcare benefits it provides for those who serve.<\/p>\n
\u201cScotland remains the only part of the UK to offer 1,140 hours a year of funded early learning and childcare to all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds, backed by \u00a31 billion annual investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf families paid for their full entitlement themselves, it would cost them more than \u00a36,000 per eligible child per year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Military families in Scotland are to receive additional childcare support worth up to \u00a36,000 per year under a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":837400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5008],"tags":[17542,748,34428,239895,239894,101729,393,69848,4884,5755,239896,712,11312,16,62147,15,239897],"class_list":["post-837399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-england","tag-armed-forces","tag-britain","tag-childcare-costs","tag-childcare-provision","tag-childcare-support","tag-douglas-alexander","tag-england","tag-england-and-scotland","tag-great-britain","tag-military-families","tag-military-personnel","tag-scotland","tag-scottish-government","tag-uk","tag-uk-armed-forces","tag-united-kingdom","tag-working-families"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116259001990903123","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=837399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/837400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}