Humza Yousaf warned council tax freeze could be funded by cuts in teacher posts

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Humza Yousaf has been warned town hall bosses will only support a council tax freeze if they are allowed to cut teacher numbers to balance the books.Council chiefs also said national plans to protect the time teachers spend in front of pupils need to be axed.Andrea Bradley, general secretary of the EIS trade union, said: “It is simply nonsensical to suggest that reducing the number of teachers in our schools, or cutting the length of the pupil week, is in any way linked to improving educational outcomes.”The First Minister infuriated local authorities when he announced a council tax freeze during his speech at SNP conference without consulting them.They fear a freeze will be funded on the cheap and result in councils having to make deep cuts to lifeline services.A letter to Yousaf from Shona Morrison, who is President of council body COSLA, repeated the frustration felt over the freeze and set out a list of conditions for backing the policy.One of the biggest asks is councils making their own decisions on teacher numbers.Local authorities wanted to cut posts earlier this year to protect other services, but this was prevented by former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.In her letter, Morrison called for the “removal of arbitrary teacher numbers”.She wrote: “Improving outcomes for children and young people cannot be provided by teachers alone. “It requires a range of supports and services that should be for local determination (including social work support, early intervention programmes for children and families, early years, school transport, breakfast and after school clubs). “The funding that Scottish Government has provided in the settlement should be able to be used to provide the very best support for our children and