10/02/2026

West Lothian Council is proposing to remove funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) places in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings for children who live outside the local authority area. If approved, this change would force families to move settled children, increase childcare costs, and make it harder for parents to balance work and caring responsibilities. It would also undermine parental choice, destabilise local childcare providers, and weaken the national principle that funding should follow the child.

We’ve created a simple email template below to help you quickly tell decision-makers how these proposals would affect your family and to urge them to rethink this damaging change.

Take action now:

1. Sign the petition to show the scale of opposition and add pressure on West Lothian Council to protect funded ELC places and parental choice.

2. Use the email template below to contact Councillors directly and explain how this decision would affect your child and your family.

Together, these send a clear message: these proposals would make it harder for parents to work, increase stress and instability for families, and disrupt children’s settled care and wellbeing. Families and children should not pay the price for council budget decisions.

The letter template:

Subject: Opposition to proposals to cut funded hours in PVI settings for children living outside of the West Lothian.

Dear Councillor,

I am writing to express my strong opposition to West Lothian Council’s proposals to remove funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) provision in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings for children who live outside the local authority area, like my own.

How this proposal would affect my family
[Please personalise this section. For example: explain where your child currently attends, why you chose that setting, how long your child has been settled there, how much extra travel or cost this could create, any impact on work, caring responsibilities, or your child’s wellbeing.]

These proposals would have a significant and harmful impact on families like mine. Many parents rely on PVI settings near their place of work, family support networks, or existing school arrangements. Removing funded places for children living outside of the local authority would disrupt settled childcare arrangements, create additional travel and logistical pressures, and place extra financial strain on families who may be forced to pay for hours that were previously funded or scramble to find alternative provision.

This proposal also undermines the principle of parental choice and the national policy intent that funding should follow the child. Families choose settings based on what works best for their child and their circumstances, not strictly on local authority boundaries. Restricting access in this way reduces choice, creates inequity, and risks destabilising PVI providers who depend on a diverse mix of funded children to remain viable.

Most importantly, this change risks negatively affecting children’s wellbeing by forcing them to leave familiar, trusted environments where they are settled and supported.

I urge West Lothian Council to reconsider these proposals and to engage meaningfully with families and providers to find solutions that protect access, choice, and continuity of care for children.

I would welcome confirmation that my concerns will be taken into account as part of the decision-making process.

Yours sincerely,

[Your full name]
[Postcode]
[Relationship to child/children, e.g. parent/carer]
[Name of childcare setting, if relevant]

 

Don’t know who the Councillors are? We’ve collected all of their email addresses here for a simple copy and paste!

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