Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, has advocated for increased support within Holyrood for politicians balancing the demands of parenthood.
Forbes, the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, whose daughter recently turned three, announced on Monday her decision not to seek re-election next year.
Forbes has since voiced concerns regarding the Scottish Parliament’s crèche facilities, citing their limited availability of three hours a day, from Tuesday to Thursday.
The Scottish Parliament has acknowledged that creche capacity is constrained by space limitations, but affirmed it is “constantly looking” for avenues to support members with caring responsibilities.
Speaking to BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland, Forbes described the childcare provision as “doesn’t make sense”.
In 2020, Gail Ross, the SNP’s MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, announced her departure to focus on raising her son.
Forbes noted that SNP minister Aileen Campbell, Labour MSP Jenny Marra, and former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson had made similar decisions.
The Deputy First Minister stated: “I am not the first and, unless anything changes, I am unlikely to be the last.”
“So many parents know the pressures and the guilt of balancing all of this.”
Forbes, who has served as an SNP MSP since 2016, represents a constituency spanning from Mallaig on the west coast, through the Great Glen, to the Cromarty Firth.
She also faces an eight-hour round trip from her home to Edinburgh.
The former leadership contender said: “That adds a particular dimension because you know you are not going to be able to get home every night.”
Forbes suggested that Holyrood “could do more and do better” in certain areas, such as its creche facility.
She added: “I have long been campaigning because it is limited to three hours a day and I don’t know anybody who only works three hours a day so that doesn’t make sense.”
“And I’m certainly not advocating for the job to be any less demanding or all consuming.”
“It has to be, by its very nature of representing people.”
“But if we can’t even get some of the basic support right then it will always be difficult for mums and dads.”
In 2021, Marra questioned why the Scottish Parliament does not have a full-time nursery unlike Westminster.
Forbes stated that she reached her decision during the summer recess, considering that re-election would commit her to a full five-year parliamentary term.
She told the programme that when her daughter went to school she would be “anchored” to one location.
The Deputy First Minister added that she was not willing to move to Edinburgh with a husband and three stepdaughters.
Forbes said: “That is why I have come to this decision.”
She also expressed concern that parents would be less represented in Holyrood unless the situation changed.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth told Good Morning Scotland that Forbes would be missed at Holyrood.
She added: “I think the points Kate has made about parliament and the provision of childcare are really important.”
Michelle Thomson, who ran Forbes’ SNP leadership campaign in 2023, told the programme it was disappointing to lose a politician of Forbes’ calibre, especially as she is only 35.
The Falkirk East MSP described the Deputy First Minister’s Highland constituency as “utterly vast” and the working hours in parliament as “incredibly long”.
She said something needed to change.
Thomson added: “The provision, in terms of nursery care, is still way too slight and that is a common complaint, not just of young women with children but also men as well.”
Forbes confirmed her intention to stand down in a letter to First Minister John Swinney.
She said she did not want to “miss any more of the precious early years of family life.”
Forbes will remain an MSP for another nine months, with the Holyrood election scheduled for May 2026.
Swinney said she had made an “invaluable contribution to public life” over the past decade.
First elected in 2016, Forbes quickly rose through the ranks to become Scotland’s first female finance secretary in 2020.
She was narrowly defeated in the 2023 SNP leadership contest by Humza Yousaf but returned to government as Swinney’s deputy last May.
She is among more than 20 SNP MSPs to have announced they will not seek re-election next year.
The Scottish Parliament said its creche capacity was limited to three hours per day by the Care Inspectorate in 2023, following a change in government regulations.
A spokesperson added: “We have had extensive discussions with the Care Inspectorate since then to explore extending that provision to offer longer periods of childcare.”
“However, this is not possible within the confines of the space available in the building.”
The spokesperson credited the introduction of hybrid working for enabling MSPs to work more flexibly and take part in business remotely.
They said: “This has provided flexibility not only for those with children but also those with elderly parents, and other caring responsibilities.”
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