FUNDING for councils will be stripped if they do not comply with the Scottish Government's instructions to increase teacher numbers, the Education Secretary has said.
Shirley-Anne Somerville made a statement to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday afternoon outlining how the Government aimed to protect the number of teachers and support staff as well as the length of the school day, amid budgetary pressures for local authorities.
The Scottish Government has committed to increasing teacher numbers by 3500 by 2026 but there were media reports some councils were considering education cuts in order to make savings.
Since 2017/18, local authorities have received funding to protect the pupil-teacher ratio, teacher numbers and to provide places for all probationers who need one.
Additional annual funding of £145.5 million is also being provided to maintain increased teacher numbers and support staff.
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Somerville said in the year ahead (2023-24), if this was not delivered by a local authority, the Scottish Government would withhold or recoup funding allocated for these purposes.
She said: "I know this decision may not be welcomed by local government, but I have a very clear commitment to improve Scottish education which we are making good progress on and I am firmly of the view we will not do that by having fewer teachers or support staff.
"It is vital we can maintain increased teacher numbers in the context of the difficult budgetary choices we face by both local government and the Scottish Government while we work towards our commitment to increase teacher numbers by 3500 by the end of this parliament.
"The measures I have outlined today demonstrate our unyielding commitment to closing the attainment gap and making Scotland the best place in the world to grow up.
"We are committed to recruiting more teachers and support staff, and we have already provided significant additional funding to local authorities to help ensure this happens.
“The Scottish Government recognises the challenging budgetary decisions facing councils and that is why the Deputy First Minister has committed to delivering a new deal for local government. However, this Government has a clear commitment to improving education – and maintaining both teacher and support staff numbers and learning hours is crucial to that."
Somerville added she will be writing to COSLA and every council in the coming days.
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