THE Scottish Government has again refused to pay councils the £1billion a year they are demanding to double the provision of free childcare.

Maree Todd, the minister for childcare and early learning, said she was sticking to the significantly lower figure of £840m a year for the policy.

Her comments followed a damning report by Audit Scotland into the SNP’s flagship policy of doubling free childcare from 600 to 1140 hours per year by August 2020.

The change will affect all three and four year olds and around a quarter of two year olds deemed to be in greatest need.

However the spending watchdog said there “significant risks” attached to the plan, and it was “difficult to see” how the deadline could be met.

Besides a year-long delay in the government starting on delivery plans, there were also issues in securing sufficient staff and premises, and disputes with councils over cash.

Local authorities say they need £690m of capital funding to gear up for the change, £1bn of revenue funding each year to support it, and 12,000 extra staff to deliver it.

But ministers say they only need £400m capital, £840m revenue and 6000 to 8000 staff.

Ms Todd said the report - described as a wake-up call by the opposition - showed “how ambitious this policy is, and shows just exactly how challenging it is”.

She said it was “absolutely deliverable”.

Asked about the £160m difference between the government and council revenue cost estimates, Ms Todd said: “I think that just reflects the point in the process that we’re at.

“At the moment, councils have put forward their plans, and we are working very closely with them. We expect to agree on costing and delivery plans by the end of April this year.”

Asked if the government would go beyond its £840m figure, she said: “At the moment I don’t think we’ll need to. We had a real variety in terms of detail and things put forward.

“We’re working really closely together. The officials in the government are working closely with our local authority partners, and I am absolutely convinced that we’ll come to a good agreement which delivers the policy.

“We have guaranteed to fully fund this policy and we have a track record of fully funding the expansion of this policy to 600 hours [from 475 hours a year in 2014].”

Tory spokesperson Michelle Ballantyne said: “Childcare and early years is of vital importance to Scotland’s future, and I am sad to see the SNP making a hash of what is a flagship policy.

“Audit Scotland’s report reveals that the expansion to 1,140 hours is already plagued with problems, with infrastructure and workforce issues at the forefront. At best, this is a shaky foundation for a policy that will affect our children for a generation.

“Maree Todd’s shambolic appearance on Good Morning Scotland this morning highlights the SNP’s staggering complacency regarding the implementation of its childcare policy.”

Labour MSP Iain Gray added: “This was an embarrassing performance from an SNP minister clearly out of her depth. As Audit Scotland has shown, the SNP’s childcare policy was written to fit on an election leaflet, rather than to fit around the lives of Scottish families.”