Lib Dems vow better childcare

Jim Wallace pledged to improve childcare

Better childcare for Scotland's families has been pledged by the Scottish Liberal Democrats at their conference in Perth.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Jim Wallace set out plans for flexible care in schools before and after lessons.

He also said secondary children will be entitled to free swimming lessons and an annual outdoor activity week.

Mr Wallace gave no firm details of the pledges - which are conditional on a Lib Dem General Election victory.

Fierce denunciation

Mr Wallace said there would be a multi-million pound dividend for Scotland if the Lib Dems were to achieve power at Westminster.

His claim centres on free care for the elderly and the abolition of upfront student tuition fees, already in place in Scotland.

If introduced across the UK by an incoming Lib Dem administration, the party claims the measures would free up about half-a-billion pounds from the block grant handed over to the Scottish Executive from Westminster.

His speech also contained a fierce denunciation of Labour, further indication that the Scottish Lib Dems will not let their coalition experience result in any punches against Labour being pulled in a Westminster campaign.

Unveiling the new childcare commitments, Mr Wallace told the conference: "This Liberal Democrat project will focus on the time that children spend out of school."

Activities which will motivate and stimulate, and which will benefit parents, making it easier to work and care for children Jim Wallace Scottish Lib Dem leader

He added: "With the additional resources available from a Liberal Democrat government in Westminster, we will revolutionise the provision of flexible care in schools for before and after the formal school day, giving parents the opportunity of affordable childcare between 8am and 6pm in local schools," he said.

"This will benefit children whose time will be invested in activities which focus on learning, on play, on sport and on a productive level.

"Activities which will motivate and stimulate, and which will benefit parents, making it easier to work and care for children."

In his attack on Labour, Mr Wallace denounced what he called its "shameful bidding war" with the Tories over asylum and immigration - "each trying to outdo the other in a desperate bid to be the first to scrape the bottom of the populist barrel".