Education funds anger:
A Budget that promised to deliver for education is already under attack, reports ANDREW DENHOLM
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay took centre stage to unveil his draft Scottish Budget on Wednesday there was a small walk on part for his predecessor in the role John Swinney.
Affronted by a hubbub of interruptions from Labour MSPS, led by the party’s finance spokesman John Kelly, Mr Swinney heckled loudly back, prompting a rebuke from the presiding officer.
“Can I just ask members please to keep quiet for a second and let’s hear the questions without bellowing out,” ordered Ken Macintosh.
“I am particularly referring to Mr Swinney and Mr Kelly. Do not bellow at each other across the chamber.”
Given initial reactions to the spending plans for education in the Budget, Mr Swinney is likely to be involved in more heated exchanges in the coming weeks.
The stakes are high. The Scottish Government has made the improvement of education its defining mission and in his statement to the Scottish Parliament Mr Mackay reiterated that objective.
“This government has made clear that our priority is closing the attainment gap and improving education,” he said.
“We are determined to improve the life chances of children in Scotland and change the lives of our future generations for the better.”
This, he argued would be assisted by a “real terms increase” in investment in the education portfolio for 2019/20 with £500 million to expand nursery education and more than £180m for schools to improve performance and close the attainment gap – including £120m for the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) which channels money directly to schools in disadvantaged areas.
This “all is well” approach was met with immediate scepticism from Mr Kelly.
He said council services were at “breaking point” with headteachers already writing to parents warning them of unprecedented cuts.
The response from council umbrella body Cosla yesterday was equally downbeat with officials arguing the settlement amounted to a real terms cut once extra money for delivering new policies such as the roll-out of free nursery care were stripped out.
Stephen Mccabe, the organisation’s education spokesman, said: “They say they are putting additional money in, but it seems to be a rebranding of money that is already in the system, such as investment for PEF and the early years.
“The simple reality is that when you strip out that money for new responsibilities local government revenue has been cut by £237m.
“That cannot but impact on education given that it is such a large part of every council’s budget. We were anticipating a poor settlement, but this is a very poor settlement.”
The other pressing concern for schools is the increasing likelihood of a teacher strike next year as unions move towards a ballot following the rejection of their demands for a ten per cent pay hike.
Mr Mackay confirmed his public sector pay policy would provide no more than a three per cent rise for those earning £36,500 or less insisting it was “reasonable and acceptable”.
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, strongly disagrees and sees nothing in the draft Budget that will delay the prospect of industrial action.
“We are disappointed on the pay front and it reflects a degree of complacency on the government’s part to the mood of public sector workers. It will fan the flames of discontent amongst teachers,” he said.
For headteachers the extra kick in the teeth is the Scottish Government’s refusal to adopt the Westminster Government’s increase in the higher rate of tax threshold which will squeeze salaries even further at a time when it is proving hard to recruit new school leaders.
And Mr Swinney has a new headache. Last year, universities were relatively happy with the Budget because they believed ministers had finally acknowledged that further cuts in public funding was leaving them in a precarious position.
Mr Mackay’s brief reference in his statement to “over £1 billion for universities” neatly skirted over the fact this amounts to a real terms cut of 1.79 per cent.
Universities are already having to rely on fees income from overseas student to subsidise the cost of teaching Scottish students and research funding is also under pressure.
Professor Andrea Nolan, convener of Universities Scotland, said institutions would find it “difficult” to deal with cuts which threatened the future viability of the country’s world-renowned higher education sector.
We anticipated a poor settlement, but this is a very poor settlement