SPIRALLING costs have left childcare in Scotland at “breaking point,” with over half of mothers believing that a return to work makes no financial sense, Pregnant Then Screwed has warned.

The  charity’s 2026 State of the Nation survey of 1,100 families north of the border found a staggering 66.1 per cent said their childcare costs were the same as or higher than their income, with 51 per cent agreeing that going back to work would not make them better off.

Pregnant Then Screwed head of policy and campaigns Carole Erskine said: “We’re reaching a breaking point for childcare in Scotland.

“Parents, providers and staff are buckling under the pressure of an underfunded, confusing and complex system that is leaving many Scottish families under significant financial strain.”

She urged politicians to back the charity’s campaign for costs to be capped at 5 per cent of income and for funded places for children from the age of nine months, describing it as “a workable, practical solution that would make sense not just for families, but the economy too.

“Scotland needs a childcare system that is genuinely affordable, universally accessible and sustainably funded to deliver high-quality provision for every family,” Ms Erskine insisted.