SNP ministers hold back £145m from embattled councils over teacher numbers row
A row has bubbled over after millions in money was withheld from Scottish Council over a row about teacher numbers
The Scottish Government has withheld more than £145 million in funding designing to help increase teacher numbers from councils.
The decision has been made as a row continues over teacher numbers., as most councils, including Glasgow, look to make cuts to education spending. The Government has said the £145.5m is earmarked for maintaining teacher numbers, but stress the money cannot be given to councils that are cutting teacher numbers.
However, Cosla, the umbrella body for Scotland’s 32 local authorities, said it did not make sense to ringfence the money and that withholding the funds was forcing councils to make deeper cuts to education services.
In recent months some local authorities, such as Glasgow City Council, are reducing teacher numbers. Others such as Falkirk Council are looking at cutting the length of the school week to try to save money.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said the money was specifically for maintaining teacher numbers, and therefore could not be given to councils to spend elsewhere in education budgets. Love politics? Then sign up for The Steamie daily newsletter
She said: “I have not allowed that funding to flow out the door. I know this is also a challenging time for local authorities, I recognise that.
“But fundamentally, protecting teacher numbers is a really important choice I think politically to make, because it protects outcomes for our children and young people.”
The decision to withhold this money has also been defended by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes.
Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Ms Forbes said: “It is not a question of it being withheld or not, it’s the approach being rejected by Cosla. If there is to be an increase in teacher numbers, the education secretary will clearly provide that funding.
“There is money there for more teachers, but local authorities have chosen thus far to reject that.”
Ms Forbes added: “If the conditions of the grant can be met, then the grant can be released - which is how most grant funding works.”
School buses have also been targeted by some councils to save money from education budgets. North Lanarkshire has changed the qualifying mileage limits for free school transport from one mile to two miles for primary school pupils, and two to three miles for secondary school pupils, as part of efforts to save £3.6m.
In a statement, Cosla said the withholding of money was forcing councils to make more cuts to their education services.
The body said: “Workforce decisions should be taken at a local level, dependent on local needs and circumstances. Measuring teacher numbers does not tell us anything about outcomes for children and young people, which is where our attention should be focused.
“Ringfencing spending on teachers forces even deeper cuts on services, including those for children with additional support needs, social work support, early intervention services, cultural services, youth work and libraries - all of which are vital to supporting children and young people, improving attainment, and closing the poverty-related attainment gap.”
Dr Sue Ellis, a former professor of education at Strathclyde University, said councils were “stuck between a rock and a hard place”. She said the Scottish Government was not helping by withholding the money.
Dr Ellis suggested local authorities should be given more control of their budgets as they deliver frontline services.
“All the cuts, whether to libraries and librarians, staff classroom assistants, additional support needs, home school link teachers, all of those will impact the most on the children who are the most disadvantaged anyway,” she said.
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