The report by Audit Scotland says that delivering the 1,140 hours will require a large increase in the number of childcare staff and changes to premises, which will be difficult to achieve in the time available.
Prepared for the Accounts Commission and Auditor General for Scotland, it argues that the Scottish Government should have started detailed planning with councils earlier, given the scale of the changes required.
The report also highlights the ‘considerable gap’ between what local councils and the Scottish Government believe the policy will cost.
The Scottish Government expects it will cost £840 million per year to deliver the 1,140 hours (equivalent to 30 hours a week, term-time only). However, councils estimate the cost of the scheme to be about £1 billion per year.
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