Scottish Women's Budget Group

17/06/2026

Scotland’s childcare policy, ELC, could have the potential to reduce inequalities and improve child and parent wellbeing, but its potential is limited.

For the past year, the Scottish Women’s Budget Group has been researching Scotland’s flagship childcare programme – Early Learning and Childcare – to understand exactly where it succeeds and where improvements are needed.

SWBG’s latest report, From Policy Ambition to Implementation: a Gender Budget Review of the Expansion of Early Learning and Childcare in Scotland, has found that some of these challenges include pressures on childcare providers, challenges for parents on low incomes in accessing services that fully meet their needs and growing financial constraints in delivering these programmes.

So how do we change this alongside expanding the offer? We outline recommendations, some of which relate to: Changes to governance and policy design processes, further support for families on low incomes and improvements in workforce conditions and quality of care.

You can read, download and share the report on SWBG’s website, ahead of tomorrow's Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan statement:
statementswbg.org.uk/content/publications/From-Policy-Ambition-To-Implementation--Early-Learning-and-Childcare-.pdf

12/06/2026

Join the SWBG for a webinar exploring how gender budgeting can help make decision-making fairer and more effective. The session will look at how budgeting choices shape outcomes for women and girls, and how this approach can be used across all levels of government to create positive change in local communities.

When: 18 June, 12:30-1:30pm
Where: Online

ed7aaea6-48e7-4c6e-b391-c5e06067de66@b4d68fca-9b4d-4115-bf11-c7192ae5e72d" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ed7aaea6-48e7-4c6e-b391-c5e06067de66@b4d68fca-9b4d-4115-bf11-c7192ae5e72d

07/06/2026

Scotland needs a fair tax system that better funds public services and care work.

Women, disabled people, those on low incomes and people from black and ethnic minority communities are disproportionately impacted by unpaid and undervalued care work. This means that they are also more likely to rely on underfunded public services.

In Poverty Alliance's Scottish Anti-Poverty Review, we outline key recommendations to achieve tax justice in Scotland, ensuring that we change the disproportionate impact on women.

Read Poverty Alliance’s Scottish Anti-Poverty Review online: povertyalliance.org/SAPR44/SAPR44/index.html

04/06/2026

People are feeling the strain and it’s not going away. Alongside this, research shows that women carry out the majority of unpaid care work and are more likely to rely on public services – making tax a deeply gendered issue.

As members of , we think Scotland needs a more honest conversation about how we fund the future.

Right now, Scotland faces growing financial pressures and much of the gap experts are warning about is really about keeping services running as they are.

But people don’t just want things to stand still.
They want their kids to grow up free from poverty.
They want a GP appointment when they need one.
They want to know that if an older parent needs support, a care package will be there.

They want action on housing, poverty and climate, too. All of that takes investment.

So the question is simple: how do we make sure wealth contributes more fairly, so everyday life actually works?

We’re asking the First Minister to deliver some practical, overdue reforms that already have strong public backing like replacing Council Tax with a fairer alternative and delivering the planned tax on pollution-spewing private jets sooner.

While action is needed at a UK level too, Scotland has the tools to help make tax fairer.

Fairer taxes, better Scotland.

31/05/2026

"Research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies, amongst others, shows that low-income families are more likely to work irregular hours or non-standard contracts and may face additional challenges accessing childcare that is built around a 9-5 model of work.”

We wrote about Scotland's pre-school childcare policy in Bella Caledonia, outlining the issues in the current system and the need for change. Highlighting how investment in childcare can genuinely work to tackle women’s inequality and deliver transformative change as access to funded childcare expands.

Read the complete article on the Bella Caledonia website: bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/05/26/the-snp-want-to-increase-childcare-hours-first-they-need-to-improve-the-existing-policies/

28/05/2026

The Scottish Women's Budget Group director, Sara, writes about the Scottish Government's ambition to expand existing ELC hours, despite existing delivery of funded hours not meeting needs, what the current issues are and how they can be addressed:

"These include some areas only delivering term time provision, limited flexibility of funded hours and there being a difficulty aligning childcare with working hours."

Read the complete article on Bella Caledonia to find out more about how Scotland can work towards a more caring economy:

https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/05/26/the-snp-want-to-increase-childcare-hours-first-they-need-to-improve-the-existing-policies

21/05/2026

Better care policies will reduce women’s inequality.

In our 2026 women’s survey, over 850 women told us that they agreed.

Why? Because affordable childcare supports more women to work, helping them gain financial stability, improve wellbeing and reduce inequality.

So, how do we improve policies? Our latest briefing highlights SWBG’s key recommendations, this includes:

·Fixing issues with the current funded hours; Expand the funded offer to both early years, alongside school-age children

·Provide targeted support for low-income families and those most marginalised from current services

·We need our elected MSPs to act, that starts by reading the briefing.

Download, read and share the complete briefing: swbg.org.uk/content/publications/SWBG-Womens-Survey-Priorities-Briefing-.pdf

Email the latest briefing to your MSP: parliament.scot/msps/current-and-previous-msps

18/05/2026

We'll soon be releasing the 2026 Women's Survey Briefing – outlining respondents' policy priorities. As well as key recommendations for MSP's.

You can get the briefing straight to your email by signing up to our newsletter today: swbg.org.uk/content/get-involved/

Today is the last day to complete our annual women’s survey. Complete the survey to ensure your experiences are included in the research that will be presented to decision makers, pushing for a fairer, more equal Scotland.

One where the economy works for women, public spending reflects the different realities women and men face, and there's real investment in social infrastructure like care services and a compassionate social security system.

If you’ve already taken part, please consider sharing the survey with others: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/7LPU68/

Follow our page for updates and to see what the research shows.

17/05/2026

Abderdeen Voices is an important resource developed by Station House Media Unit (SHMU) that challenges the stigma of poverty through conversations with those with lived experience

The Scottish Women's Budget Group has worked alongside SHMU to share women's experiences of poverty in Aberdeen. Read the complete resource below, which also explores the impact of No Recourse to Public Funds.

https://online.fliphtml5.com/homs/Aberdeen-Voices-2026/ =1

You can also read SWBG's report on Inequality and Poverty in Aberdeen on our website:https://www.swbg.org.uk/content/publications/SWBG-Aberdeen-Report.pdf

14/05/2026

Following the Scottish Parliamentary Election, newly elected and re-elected representatives will begin official duties in the Scottish Parliament this week. They’ll serve their communities, advocating for policies they believe will benefit the public.

At the Scottish Women’s Budget Group, we’re considering what this means for women’s lives and women’s economic equality.

Over the next five years, we’ll work with these MSPs, continuing our campaigning, training and research work, pushing for changes, including policy reform in the care system, gendered budgeting and more.

Want your MSP to work on these issues? Follow our work to find out how!
swbg.org.uk/content/get-involved