Council leaders have accused the Scottish government of an 'unnecessary and unwanted attack' on their decision-making powers after Nicola Sturgeon confirmed teaching posts will be protected from local authority cuts.
The First Minister told Holyrood it would not be acceptable for the teaching workforce to fall. Cosla, the local authority organisation, has announced it will seek legal advice over the move and warned it would not prevent job and service cuts.
In a joint statement, Cosla resources spokesperson Katie Hagmann and children and young people spokesperson Tony Buchanan said: 'This is an unnecessary and unwanted attack and intervention on our democratic mandate as elected politicians in our own right. We are seeing potentially unworkable proposals foisted on us without any prior discussion or consultation with local government - proposals we will be seeking legal advice on.'
Cosla said the move would force councils to make reductions in other support offered to children and young people, including pupil support staff, libraries, youth work and other vital services. A document prepared by Cosla for a meeting on Friday states that ministers are considering introducing new regulations under the Education (Scotland) Act 2016, setting a minimum number of learning hours each week and locking current pupil-teacher ratios, with financial penalties for non-compliance.
Figures published in December showed the total number of teachers in Scotland fell by 92 year-on-year to 54,193, despite the Scottish government earmarking £145m to help councils maintain and expand the workforce. Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville is expected to set out the plans within days.
