One vote wins the day as campaigning mum Vahri secures council childcare policy change

A Paisley mum has revealed she “felt quite emotional” as calls for Renfrewshire Council to reverse a change to an early learning and childcare policy were successful after a nail-biting vote yesterday.

- JACK THOMSON, LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTER

Vahri Gemmell asked elected members to back a motion instructing the local authority to return to its previous position of providing children with up to 1,140 hours of free early learning and childcare a year from the month after their third birthday.

At the moment, following a decision last year, the council only provides funding from the start of the next term - an approach which has led to some families forking out for childcare and others simply having to wait.

This looks set to change after the motion, which was put forward by the Labour group, achieved a total of 22 votes - just one more than the 21 secured by an amendment from the SNP administration.

Vahri, whose petition on the subject gathered more than 600 signatures, said she was “absolutely buzzing” as she watched the result unfold.

She added: “It’s going to make a massive difference to hundreds of families across Renfrewshire and hopefully other councils will follow suit.

“Immediate access should be the gold standard and I don’t know why, in 2025, we're going back the way. I actually felt quite emotional because it was very close and it came down to one vote.