Looking for brighter signs of summer

Rosemary Gallagher | Greg Macvean Photography

But for many parents – including me – a lot of time, effort and money goes into ensuring young ones are kept occupied while we work over the coming weeks. Summer clubs have been thoroughly researched and bookings paid for. Unsurprisingly, I would say this time of year makes you think even more about childcare and juggling work and family responsibilities.

Against this backdrop, it was concerning to read new research from protection and employee benefits provider MetLife UK, which revealed that almost a third of working parents in Scotland could only last a week without pay if their child fell ill or was injured.

Some 7 per cent said they simply wouldn’t be able to afford to take time off work for such childcare needs, and 6 per cent said they would actually have to quit work in that situation.

The research, which explored the perception and uptake of financial protection policies among Scotland’s working parents, saw 51 per cent of that demographic saying they don’t have a savings pot to dip into if they need to take unpaid time off work if their children had an accident or became unwell. More than a quarter of this group told the survey that they don’t have any support  in place from family or friends should they need help with their children.

While looking forward to the summer and family time, these stats do give some food for thought on the future of childcare – especially in unforeseen circumstances – and how to pay for it.

Also falling during the  school summer holidays is, of course, the General Election on 4 July. Many will be hoping whichever party comes to power will put measures in place to help ease cost of living pressures. In our first Scotsman Money Podcast, in association with Calton, I spoke to that firm’s Tom Ham, and Alison Gay of consultants The Lang Cat, about their financial wish lists for the powers-to-be at Westminster.

For Tom, consistency is key, rather than what he says we tend to get from new governments “who come in and tear things up to show that they’re different to their predecessors”. Meanwhile, one thing Alison would like to see is a broad review of retirement and savings, to take in such areas as equity release and property.

Among other topics in Scotsman Money this month, Waverton Wealth examines how you can protect your family’s wealth during turbulent times, and Aberdein Considine answers questions on funding long-term care and workplace pensions.

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