the Committee also concluded that the Scottish Government “must supercharge its efforts to prioritise policies that tackle

The delivery of the funded entitlement at the local level is often insufficiently flexible to meet the needs of families.8 Recent research by Scottish Government with families utilising the 1140 hours concluded that “it was notable that many of the difficulties or concerns experienced by parents – for example flexibility of hours, accessibility – were raised in the context of using ELC to enable t. [...] The Committee recognised in its inquiry report that “without the existence of robust and affordable public transport options across the country, access to employment as a lever to address child poverty becomes a moot point.” This aligns with the Poverty 6 Scottish Government (2023) Exploring parents’ views and use of Early Learning and Childcare in Scotland available at . [...] Between 2022 and 2024, the Poverty Alliance were commissioned by the Scottish Government to deliver and support two citizen’s panels on public transport – one focused on a just transition in transport,14 and another process to contribute to the Scottish Government’s Fair Fares review.15 These processes emphasised the importance of cost, safety (and particularly compounded issues of safety for Blac. [...] To support the delivery of Scotland’s lifetime skills offer, The Poverty Alliance were commissioned to hold a series of engagement sessions with equalities organisations alongside a citizen’s panel of people with experience of living on a low income.17 These citizen’s panels highlighted that cost continues to function as the biggest barrier to upskilling and reskilling, including the costs of broa. [...] There is also a key role for employers in enabling parents into paid work, including through the delivery of high-quality flexible and part-time work; the payment of the real Living Wage; and the promotion of working hours that enable families to escape poverty through commitment to Living Hours.