Scottish Government accused of treating councils 'like dirt' in row over protecting teacher numbers

EXCLUSIVE: SNP ministers are determined to maintain teacher numbers but some local authorities have complained they no longer have the resources to avoid cuts.

The Scottish Government has been accused of treating local authorities "like dirt" in an on-going row over teacher numbers.

The SNP is determined to maintain staffing levels in schools despite some councils complaining they no longer have the resources to avoid cut-backs.

The scale of the frustration in town halls has now been revealed in a series of letters sent by council bosses in December last year.

A senior Scottish Government civil servant wrote to all local authorities where teacher numbers had dropped in the past 12 months asking them to explain any mitigating circumstances.

Town hall chiefs were told they could miss out on a share of £145m funding if they did not agree to maintain teacher numbers.

The responses sent by councils blamed a mixture of funding cuts, a drop in pupil numbers as well as recruitment challenges experienced in some parts of the country.

East Ayrshire Council chief executive Eddie Fraser accused the Scottish Government of making a "blunt threat".

"I have to say that I was disappointed to receive your letter and particularly concerned that it contained such a blunt threat to remove critical funding which currently supports children and young people," he said in a response seen by the Record.

"If such a threat were to be enacted, it would have a significant detrimental impact on some of the most disadvantaged children in Scotland."

Des Murray, chief executive of North Lanarkshire Council, said in his response the local authority was "facing year-on-year cuts in funding streams which directly impact on our ability to maintain staff numbers".

He added: "The stated position of the Scottish Government in reiterating, through the media, a threat to withhold funding on this matter prior to dialogue with local authorities is also regrettable, and the council will have no hesitation in publicly defending its position robustly."

Aberdeenshire Council complained it was unable to hire the number of teachers it required.

"We are in the midst of a significant recruitment crisis within our secondary sector," its education director said in a letter. "We requested 66 secondary probationer teachers for school session 2023/24 and were allocated 18.

"Head teachers are advertising vacancies on multiple occasions, yet recruitment to key posts remains unsuccessful."

Willie Rennie, Scottish Lib Dems education spokesman, said there would be an "outcry" if Westminster treated Holyrood in the same way SNP ministers were making demands of council leaders.

He said: "The SNP have stripped back the money for councils then is shocked that councils can’t afford to pay for thousands of extra teachers. Councils are rightly angry that they are being treated like dirt. If Westminster treated Holyrood like this there would be an outcry.

"The SNP promised 3,500 extra teachers and a cut to teacher contact time but are delivering neither. The result is that pupils are suffering and teachers are overworked.

"As well as a new long term funding package for local government, Scottish Liberal Democrats would deliver a strategy to tackle poor behaviour in class, proper stable contracts for teachers to depend on and greater in-class support."

A Scottish Government spokesman said it was "determined to protect teacher numbers, which is why we are making £145.5 million available to local authorities for that purpose".

They added: "Talks are continuing with Cosla to reach an agreement which ensures teacher numbers are protected.

"The Education Secretary has been clear that the challenges faced by our schools post-covid will not be solved with fewer teachers in Scotland's schools."

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