Council deal 'bad for education'

The union claims local government financing is hitting classrooms

A teaching union has claimed the concordat between the Scottish Government and local councils has had a negative impact on education.

The EIS said there would be "deep and damaging" education cuts next year unless local authorities had their budgets increased.

The concordat led to a council tax freeze this year. A similar agreement is possible in 2009.

Local authority body Cosla branded the union's claims "pure pantomime".

The EIS claimed that schools were being forced to operate with significantly reduced budgets prior to the economic downturn, with serious implications for education.

Some schools are cutting back on the subjects that they offer, purely for financial reasons Ronnie Smith EIS

The union's general secretary Ronnie Smith said that by signing up to the concordat and the associated council tax freeze, local authorities had limited their flexibility to address local needs.

He added: "While a deal offering greater financial autonomy for local authorities was superficially appealing to some, the reality is that local authorities are cutting back on education spending.

"Now, we hear that the Scottish Government will push ahead with plans to freeze council tax again next year, but already there are concerns from some councils that the money to fund this is insufficient and that there will need to be further cuts to essential services such as education as a result.

"It is clear that there is a fundamental incompatibility between a government setting more and more national priorities, while simultaneously lauding increased autonomy for the local authorities which are expected to deliver those priorities from their existing funds."

Mr Smith said some teachers had reported that they were being forced to work in "extremely difficult circumstances with budgets pared to the bone and a growing scarcity of resources."

Recent official financial returns from councils to Scottish Government show that on average authorities increased their spend on education this year Isabel Hutton Cosla

"Cutbacks are happening in many areas, with a negative impact on the educational experience for pupils. Some schools are cutting back on the subjects that they offer, purely for financial reasons," he added.

He called on the Scottish Government and local authorities to work together to ensure schools, pupils and teachers received the support and resources they needed.

But councillor Isabel Hutton, Cosla's spokeswoman for education, children and young people, responded: "If anything sums up the fact that we are now in the festive season it is this latest attack from the EIS - because it is pure pantomime.

"The truth of the matter is that the EIS have never been fans of the concordat because its focus is on providing councils with the freedom to improve education outcomes for pupils, rather than just measuring inputs like numbers of teachers."

Ms Hutton accused the union of adopting a "deliberately negative tone which I don't think matches reality".

"Their speculation about next year's education budget is just that - speculation - they don't know, as budgets have not been set yet," she added.

"Recent official financial returns from councils to Scottish Government show that on average authorities increased their spend on education this year. Of course all local authority budgets are under pressure in part from the economic downturn, but education and children's services remain a top priority for councils.

"We are now in the business of actually measuring improvement to education outcomes rather than raw numbers such as headline budgets and teacher numbers. The EIS may not like this, but it's the right thing to do."