Rebecca Machin, the SNP candidate for Fort William and Ardnamurchan, has sent out this message as the campaign enters its final weeks: “Childcare is central to fixing a vast swathe of issues in this ward,” she says.
“What I am hearing from parents of young children is entirely consistent.
“A lack of provision and a lack of affordable childcare is impacting families across the entire ward.
“I have seen young women who say they cannot work as they have to stay at home and men telling me that the nearest available childcare from Kinlochleven is Inverlochy, 40 minutes and 25 miles away!” she continues.
“Communities need help to work together to provide childcare.
“This lack of an entitlement is forcing women out of the labour market and leading to families struggling across the peninsula and South Lochaber.
“When the Liberal Democrats sided with the Tories in 2010 and became the midwives of austerity, they oversaw a giant axe being taken to social security entitlements which disproportionately affected women and forced them out of the paid labour market and into unpaid caring at home.
“The knock-on effect of this is to also reduce household income, which affects household spending and so our local economies and our ability to staff places like Moss Park.
“This catastrophic unionist policy blights our young people’s opportunities to this day and disproportionately affects women as they are most likely to be employed as carers and to do the caring in households.
“I have been a working mother, and I know exactly how expensive childcare was 30 years ago, now the situation is even worse.
“I took the opportunity to raise the issue with Kate Forbes, another working mother, who understood immediately the need for this to be solved in Fort William and Ardnamurchan.
“If we could solve the childcare problem the multiplier effect of increased incomes would benefit households, local communities, care home staffing, the NHS, education and all other facets of daily life for people on the ground and businesses alike.
“Some areas of Highland have already looked at this issue and begun accessing Addressing Depopulation Funding from the Council to look at alleviating the pressures, but Ward 21 needs someone to spend their time and understanding on this and help to provide the solutions.”
