The First Minister has announced free school meals for the first three years of primary and free childcare for every Scottish two-year-old from a jobless household.
Alex Salmond said around 8,400 children would benefit from the childcare policy when it comes into force this August.
He also revealed that free provision would be extended to 15,400 children, 27% of all two-year-olds, with entitlementwidened to families that receive welfare benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, by the end of next summer.
Free school meals will be made available to every pupil in Scotland during their first three years at primary school.
The measure, which will beintroduced from January next year, matches a scheme being brought in across the rest of the UK.
It is being funded with the extra money received by the Scottish Government as a budget consequence of Westminster’s plans for schools south of the border.
During a debate on Scotland’s future at Holyrood, Mr Salmond told MSPs that free meals in Scotland would be funded with £114 million over the next two years, saving families at least £330 for each child.
“The announcements that we make today will have the greatest possible effect given the resources available to us,” Mr Salmond said.
He added that the extension to childcare would ensure that, by August next year, Scotland will deliver 80 million hours of childcare to pre-school children, which he said was the greatest amount in the UK.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie praised ministers for announcing a policy he has long campaigned on.
He added: “But none of this stuff would be happening if Nick Clegg hadn’t taken the step last autumn, because the Scottish Government weren’tmoving very fast on free school meals up to that point.”
Other opposition politicians criticised the Scottish Government for not going far enough, with Labour and Conservative MSPs voting against the policy.
Party leaders also accused the SNP of using childcare to boost its chances ofwinning the independence referendum.
The Educational Institute of Scotland, the country’s largest union for teachers and lecturers, welcomed the free school meals commitment, as did Shelter Scotland, the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland and trades union the GMB.