John Swinney in funding threat to councils over flagship education policy

Daily Record

2 days ago

EXCLUSIVE: An exasperated First Minister has written to COSLA and accused councils of stalling on a deal to cut class contact time for teachers.
An angry John Swinney has threatened to withhold funding from councils unless they fulfill a promise to free up time for teachers.
In a letter obtained by the Record, the First Minister has accused town hall chiefs of stalling on a deal to cut class contact time for teachers.
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He said he could 'withhold or recover relevant monies' if councils backslide on the agreement.
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A senior council source hit back by saying the policy is 'simply unaffordable and potentially undeliverable'.
The row stems from a £186.5m Budget deal on restoring teacher numbers to 2023 levels and making meaningful progress on reducing class contact time for teachers.
Ministers want class contact time reduced by an hour and a half a week to help teachers prepare for lessons, raise standards and undertake professional development.
In his letter to council umbrella group, Swinney accused councils of not coming good on the deal:
'I am concerned about the lack of progress on delivery of the commitment to make meaningful progress on reducing class contact time.
'We simply cannot afford to stall on this any longer, particularly when we are facing a dispute and ballot on industrial action from the teacher unions on this issue, as part of their concerns over workload.'
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He added: 'The agreement to provide increased funding of £186.5 million was made in good faith by the Scottish Government. It is essential that meaningful progress on reducing class contact time is now made, with a credible proposal to the unions ready for August, in order to fulfil the requirements of our agreement..
'Ultimately, where we do not consider that satisfactory progress is being made on delivery of the agreement, the Scottish Government reserves the right to adjust, withhold or recover relevant monies allocated to individual councils for these purposes.'
His threat came ahead of a meeting of COSLA today where the class contact time commitment will be discussed.
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A COSLA paper makes clear council chiefs do not believe they have enough money to deliver the policy:
'There is a strong consensus that councils would not be able to deliver the policy from the existing funding envelope available to Local Government.'
COSLA also claimed a phased reduction of class contact time cannot be achieved if councils revert to 2023 levels of teachers.
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They also cited modelling which suggested over 3800 additional teachers would be required for a reduction in class contact time by 1.5 hours.
COSLA's proposed position is to seek extra funding for reducing class contact time if the Government confirms it as a priority.
A council insider said: "A 1.5 hour reduction in class contact time for teachers is simply unaffordable and potentially undeliverable in many areas due to a shortage of teachers, even if the Scottish Government came up with extra funding, which they say they don't have.
'If the Scottish Government tries to force this policy through it will require cuts to other aspects of education, which would impact detrimentally on children and young people. This policy has not been fully thought through by Ministers. They are desperate to appease the teaching unions and avoid industrial action."