COSLA – Page 11 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Scottish Budget Bill passed

Further support for councils, culture sector and island ferries

An additional £223 million will be provided to local authorities to support pay awards to staff as part of the 2023-24 Scottish Budget.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said an improving financial position enabled him to address some pressing asks. The extra money for local authorities comprises a new £100 million for non-teaching staff and the £123 million announced last week for 2023-24 to support a new pay offer for teachers which would see salaries rise by 11.5% from April.

It comes on top of the additional £570 million already included in the local government settlement and takes the total settlement to nearly £13.5 billion.

Opening the Budget Bill Stage 3 debate in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Swinney also announced a £6.6 million increase to Creative Scotland’s budget and promised to fund the revenue cost increases incurred by local authorities managing the inter-islands ferry network.

He said additional funding confirmed by the UK Government in Supplementary Estimate figures this morning had enabled him to go further in 2023-24 – but stressed that the financial position remained exceptionally challenging and would require continued prioritisation throughout the coming year.

Mr Swinney said: “I am very aware of the challenges faced as we manage our way through this cost crisis and this Budget is designed to do as much as we possibly can to assist at this most difficult moment.

“None of this is easy – this is by far the hardest Scottish Budget process that I have led – with the effects of raging inflation being felt against the impact of more than a decade of austerity and Barnett funding down 5% in real terms since 2021-22.

“I hope this additional funding will enable a swift agreement in the Scottish Joint Council pay negotiations so that relevant staff receive a pay increase as early as possible in 2023-24.

“The Budget strengthens our social contract with every citizen of Scotland who will continue to enjoy many benefits not available throughout the UK. Delivering support for people most in need, in these difficult times, is the foundation of this Budget.

“The Budget that has been set out to Parliament enables us to invest in our public services, to ensure a strong boost to local authority funding and to ensure that we help those who need it the most.”

The Deputy First Minister’s statement to Parliament.

SARAH BOYACK ON SCOTTISH GOVT’S DECISION TO REVERSE CULTURE CUTS

The Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, announced an uplift of £6.6 million for Creative Scotland in his Scottish Budget statement on Tuesday.

John Swinney acknowledged “the calls form Claire Adamson MSP, Convener of the Parliament’s Culture and Constitution Committee to continue to sustain our investment in culture and the arts.”

In his statement, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister said: “We had asked Creative Scotland to sustain investment next year by utilising £6.6 million from their accumulative Lottery reserves in place of a further year of additional grant funding to compensate for generally lower National Lottery income.

“I am now in a position now to require that and I will provide an uplift of £6.6 million for Creative Scotland for 2023-24 to ensure their reserve funding can supplement rather than replace grant funding.”

The decision comes following calls from trade unions, artists, cultural organisations and campaigners to reverse the cuts.

Last week, the Scottish Trades Union Congress wrote to John Swinney and Culture Secretary Angus Robertson on behalf of the Musicians’ Union, the Scottish Artists Union, BECTU, Equity, the Writers’ Guild, Scottish Society of Playwrights and the Society of Authors, warning that cutting arts funding is “the wrong choice at the wrong time.”

Commenting, Scottish Labour’s Culture spokesperson, Sarah Boyack MSP said: “I welcome Scottish Government’s U-turn and the decision to reverse the culture cuts.

“The proposals to cut Creative Scotland’s funding should have never been put forward – they simply didn’t make sense and if implemented, would have added to the huge pressure the culture sector is facing because of the cost of living crisis and rising costs.

“Culture workers have been living with uncertainty, precarious and under-paid work for years – the current crisis has only made things worse for them.

“There is so much more that the Scottish Government should be doing now to support the sector. In my own city for example the King’s Theatre needs support now. ”

David Watt, Chief Executive, Arts & Business Scotland, said: “We warmly welcome yesterday’s announcement by the Scottish Government to reverse the proposed £6.6m reduction in Creative Scotland’s funding for 2023/24.

“Arts & Business Scotland serves as the bridge between Scotland’s cultural and business sectors, fostering innovation and cross-sector collaboration and delivering major cultural, social and economic benefits both here and internationally. The success of our nation’s cultural profile relies on this and the creative and cultural sector has an essential role to play in facilitating a thriving and innovative economy.

“Scotland’s creative and cultural sector continues to reel from the aftermath of the pandemic, from rising energy costs and from increasing inflation; so opportunities to maintain ongoing financial support are very much a step in the right direction for both the sector and for the many businesses across Scotland that collaborate with them.

“Indeed we believe the coming together of the arts, culture and business communities can bring innovation and fresh thinking to the economy. Whilst we welcome this renewed confidence in the sector, we now need to look towards a sustainable, longer term future that embrace Scotland’s creative and cultural landscape as a catalyst for social and economic, as well as cultural, change.”

COSLA publish good practice principles for managing school meal debt

A set of good practice principles for the management of School Meal debt have been published by COSLA.

The principles, which are a first for Scotland, and have been developed by COSLA, with partners from across Local Government, have been produced to promote good practice in the management of school meal debt, whilst retaining a level of flexibility to enable local authorities to design and implement approaches which align with the unique needs and circumstances of their communities.

Decisions around school meal debt management, including all aspects of policy and practice, remain at the discretion of each local authority. However these principles may be useful for supporting the review and development of local authority school meal debt policy and practice, as well as supporting effective implementation on an ongoing basis.

The intended audience for these principles is local authority staff across a range of departments (including, for example, education, catering, finance and debt collection) as well as Head Teachers, class teachers and other school staff.

Commenting as he launched the principles COSLA’s Children and Young People Spokesperson Councillor Tony Buchanan said: “As Local Government we’re committed to tackling child poverty and ensuring that all children and young people can engage fully in their education, free from barriers. This has never been more important than now, as families continue to face the impact of rising costs.

“COSLA recognises that school meal debt is an emotive issue but one that is complex. We’ve worked closely with colleagues in the third sector in response to the research they’ve highlighted, and have developed an agreed set of principles for councils to consider when making decisions on local policy and practice.

“I’m pleased that these new principles will support councils to reflect good practice in their management of school meal debt, as part of their own, locally responsive, approaches to supporting children, young people, and families.”

Martin Canavan, Head of Policy and Participation at Aberlour children’s charity, said: ““The level of school meal debt in Scotland is concerning and has been rising due to the cost of living crisis.

“Low income families not eligible for free school meals are struggling to feed their children, and many are accruing school meal debt as a result. We need to respond better, with compassion and empathy, to those families and make sure that no child will go hungry at school or is stigmatised by the processes in place for any child to access a meal in school.

“We welcome these school meal debt good practice principles that Cosla has published. These can help councils and schools respond to the issue of school meal debt consistently, sensitively and in a way that recognises the financial pressures and anxiety that low income families face.

“Embedding these principles in practice will help further Scotland’s commitment to the UNCRC and every child’s right to healthy and nutritious food.”

Read COSLA’s Good Practice Principles for Management of School Meal Debt here.

Teachers reject latest offer: planned strikes to go ahead

A special meeting of the EIS Salaries Committee, held online today, has unanimously rejected the latest revised pay offer from the Scottish Government and COSLA.

The new offer, announced in the media yesterday before it was given to teaching unions, offers only a marginal improvement on previously rejected offers. As a result, the EIS will reject the offer and continue with its current programme of strike action until a more credible offer is put onto negotiating table.

Commenting this afternoon, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “This is another inadequate offer to Scotland’s teachers, which was unanimously rejected by the EIS Salaries Committee earlier today.

“The 6% value of the offer for 2022-23 is insufficient, with CPI inflation currently sitting today at 10.5%. The 6% offer for this year is only 1% less of a pay cut than that previously offered, twice, by the Scottish Government and COSLA.

“Teachers have already lost more than 1% of their salaries through being forced into strike action so, essentially, teachers already more than paid for this revised offer themselves. This is just yet more smoke and mirrors from the Scottish Government and COSLA in attempting to make this offer appear more generous than it actually is.”

Ms Bradley continued, “The suggested year two component of 5.5% hasn’t been negotiated via the appropriate forum, the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), at all. Indeed, teaching unions haven’t even submitted our pay claim for 2023/24 yet, as a consequence of the current dispute.

“In attempting to tag on next year’s pay settlement, without any negotiation at all, the Scottish Government and COSLA are attempting to tie the hands not just of teacher trade unions but all public sector unions – and this is unacceptable to the EIS.”

Ms Bradley added, “The conduct of the Scottish Government and COSLA in this process has been equally unacceptable. From dragging the process out interminably, to seeking to create divisions both between different grades of teachers and different groups of workers, to seeking to bypass the agreed negotiating processes and sharing information on pay offers with the media before sharing them with the trade unions representing teachers – these have not been good-faith actions.

“Their emphasis throughout has been on spin rather than genuine attempts to reach an agreed pay settlement through proper negotiation.”

Ms Bradley went on to add, “As a result of the clear decision to reject this offer, taken by our Salaries Committee today, our Executive Committee has also unanimously agreed that the current programme of strike action will continue as scheduled.

“The EIS remains, as ever, willing and available to engage in further discussions with both the Scottish Government and COSLA, through the appropriate forum within the SNCT, to attempt to reach a resolution to this dispute.”

The EIS has emailed its members this afternoon, advising on the decisions to reject the offer and continue with strike action and the reasoning behind those decisions.

A copy of this email can be viewed here.

Teachers’ strikes: new offer tabled

Most teachers will see their salaries rise by 11.5% in April – IF a new pay offer is accepted

LOCAL Government umbrella body COSLA last night submitted an improved offer to unions to resolve the long-running teachers pay dispute.

The deal – the fifth offered to unions – would mean an overall increase of more than £5,000 over two years for the 70% of classroom teachers who are at the top of their main grade pay scale.

It would amount to a cumulative rise of almost 30% for most teachers since January 2018 and would bring the starting salary for a fully qualified teacher – already the highest in the UK – to £37,719 after probation.

The revised offer, agreed by the Scottish Government and COSLA, is:

2022-23

6% for all staff earning up to £80,000 from 1 April 2022
£4,800 for all those earning in excess of £80,000

2023-24

5.5% for all staff earning up to £80,000 from 1 April 2023
£4,400 for all those earning in excess of £80,000

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Teachers make an invaluable contribution to the lives of our children and young people. This significant offer, if accepted by unions, would see teacher pay increase by almost 30% since January 2018.

“While union demands for an in-year 10% increase are unaffordable within the Scottish Government’s fixed budget, we have looked for compromise and we have arrived at a deal that is fair, affordable, and sustainable for everyone involved.

“The Scottish Government is supporting this new offer with additional funding of £156 million. This is on top of the £50 million that we have already provided to local authorities in support of an enhanced pay offer for teachers.

“The offer is being made at a time of extraordinary financial pressure on the Scottish Government budget. Difficult decisions will have to be made to free up the required resources. This reflects our commitment to reach a fair agreement and avoid further disruption to children and young people’s education.

“I have written to the unions asking that their members are given the opportunity to consider this new offer, which is the fifth to be tabled. While they do so, I have asked that they suspend any planned industrial action. This would minimise any further disruption to learning, particularly in the run up to the SQA exam diet.”

COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Councillor Katie Hagmann said: “Given the funding assurances received from the Scottish Government, Leaders have agreed to submit a revised offer to the Trade Unions tonight.

“COSLA Leaders are clear that it is in all of our interests, not least those of children, young people and families, to conclude the teachers’ pay negotiations as quickly as we can to bring back stability and certainty in our schools.

“We are determined to provide a fair and affordable pay offer to all our employees, including teachers. In that regard, following today’s meeting Leaders agreed to mandate me to take a refreshed offer to the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) and we hope that this is acceptable to them.”

Teachers’ union EIS responded late last might: “The EIS has now received formal notification of a revised pay offer from COSLA. This came well after details of the revised offer were shared with media outlets. This is disrespectful of the appropriate negotiating process through the SNCT.”

The EIS, who had been seeking a 10% rise, will look at the detail of the latest offer today before deciding whether to put the offer to members.

Pause The Bill

Common Weal and STUC call for pause to National Care Service legislation

Scottish think tank Common Weal, along with the Scottish Trade Union Congress, has launched a joint letter to the First Minister calling for the National Care Service Bill to be paused (writes NICK KEMPE).

Since Common Weal supported calls from the Trade Unions to pause the bill at the beginning of December many other organisations have done the same. Until now, however, smaller organisations have had a limited opportunity to make their views known and there has been very little joint action. The idea behind the letter, which you can read here, is to change that and to show the Scottish Government the degree of concern across Scotland.

The NCS Bill has now been considered by various Committees of the Scottish Parliament and MSPs should now be aware that there is very little enthusiasm or support for it in its current form. The hearings of the Finance and Public Administration Committee received a large amount of media coverage, not least because SNP MSP Michelle Thomson broke ranks and made some scathing comments.

The Committee’s report on the Financial Memorandum accompanying the bill, published at the beginning of December, was highly critical about the absence of costings. It highlighted the absence of costs for the creation of the new service, including VAT liability, transfer of assets and staff and the creation of a health and social care record, as well as the proposal to introduce major policies “via secondary legislation or business cases which cannot be subject to the same in-depth and formal financial scrutiny as Financial Memorandums to bills”.

It called on the Scottish Government to provide the necessary financial details at least two weeks prior to the Stage 1 consideration of the bill in March – giving very little time for any outside organisation to comment/brief MSPs

The majority report published last Friday here from the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee – don’t be put off by the name – added to the concerns about the lack of information and that the Scottish Government is “setting a dangerous precedent, undermining the role of the parliament.” Its reason for concluding this (the two SNP MSPs on the Committee dissented) was:

“The Committee is concerned there is insufficient detail on the face of the Bill and within the Bill documents to allow for meaningful parliamentary scrutiny. Given the far-reaching nature of the proposed reforms the Committee is mindful there is a real risk of letting down those the Bill is intended to help by allowing Scottish Government ministers to use delegated powers instead of primary legislation to introduce core and as yet unknown provisions. The Committee believes the current approach significantly reduces the threshold for parliamentary approval and prevents MSPs from bringing forward detailed amendments”.

Far from increasing democratic control over care services, as we advocated in Caring for All, the NCS Bill is now threatening to undermine democracy, whether at the local level by removing control from local authorities, or at the national level by handing unprecedented powers to Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government needs to have a fundamental re-think about what it is proposing and how its engaging with civic society while at the same time secretly working with KPMG to design the Target Operating Model for the NCS. If you are part of an organisation which has a stake in the future of social work and social care in Scotland, please ask them to support the letter. As an individual, please also consider contacting your MSPs asking them to support the call for a pause.

Nick Kempe – Common Weal Care Reform Group

COSLA’s Health and Social Care Spokesperson, @cllrpaulkelly, commented following the release of the letter from @ScottishTUC and signed by a number of organisations which has called for Scottish Government to pause the National Care Service Bill:

Schools: Something’s got to give (2)

EIS to escalate strikes to include targeted action

YESTERDAY, 7 February, marked one whole year since Scottish teaching unions submitted their pay claim for 2022-23 via the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT).

A year on, that pay claim remains unsettled and teachers across the country are engaged in a programme of industrial action in pursuit of a fair pay settlement.

As a result, the EIS has announced an escalation of its action to include targeted strike action in schools within the constituencies of key decision makers within the Scottish Government and COSLA.

EIS Office Bearers and other senior EIS Representatives took part in photo calls outside the Scottish Government and COSLA HQ in Edinburgh yesterday, delivering Birthday cards to mark the 1st anniversary of the teachers’ pay claim being submitted.

Commenting, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “It is deeply regrettable that the continuing inaction, obfuscation and spin from the Scottish Government and COSLA on teachers’ pay has led to an escalation of our programme of strike action.

“It has now been a year since our pay claim was submitted, and teachers should have had their pay rise in their pay packet last April. Instead, the Scottish Government and COSLA initially offered a pathetic 2% pay settlement – at a time when inflation was nearly four times that amount.

“Since then, the Scottish Government and COSLA have dithered, delayed and dragged their feet while the cost of living has continued to soar.”

Ms Bradley added, “The latest offer, for a well-below inflation 5%, has now been kicking around for six months and has been rejected by Scotland’s teachers twice. Our members have already taken part in three days of national strike action, and a further 16-days of rolling action across the country.

“The response from the Scottish Government and COSLA has been, essentially, nil – and this now has forced an escalation in our action. The offer of a 9% real-terms pay cut, which is what is on the table, will never be acceptable.”

The escalation of action means that, in addition to 2 days of national strike action already called for 28th February and 1st March, and a 20 further days of rolling strikes across all local authority areas from 13th March until 21st April, there will be targeted action in the constituencies of the First Minister, Deputy First Minster, Cabinet Secretary for Education, and COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Katie Hagmann.

Scottish Greens Education Spokesperson Ross Greer’s East Dunbartonshire constituency area will also be targeted.

EIS members in four of these five areas will be called out on three consecutive days from Wednesday, 22nd February – Friday, 24th February inclusive.

All five areas will be targeted for a further three days of action from Tuesday, 7th March. Precise details of the schools involved in this action on the relevant dates will be published shortly.

Further periods of targeted action are likely, if no new pay offer is forthcoming.

Schools: Something’s got to give (1)

Holyrood and Scotland’s councils on collision course

Measures to ensure that teacher and pupil support staff numbers as well as school hours are protected have been announced by Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville.

The Scottish Government has committed to increasing teacher numbers by 3,500 during this Parliament.

Since 2017/18 local authorities have received funding to protect the pupil-teacher ratio, teacher numbers and to provide places for all probationers who need one.

Additional annual funding of £145.5 million is also being provided to maintain increased teacher numbers and support staff. In the year ahead (2023/24), if this is not delivered by a local authority, the Scottish Government will withhold or recoup funding allocated for these purposes.

Regulations will also be introduced under legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2016 to enshrine a statutory minimum number of school hours.

Ms Somerville said: “The measures I have outlined today demonstrate our unyielding commitment to closing the attainment gap and making Scotland the best place in the world to grow up.

“We are committed to recruiting more teachers and support staff, and we have already provided significant additional funding to Local Authorities to help ensure this happens.

“The Scottish Government recognises the challenging budgetary decisions facing councils and that is why the Deputy First Minister has committed to delivering a new deal for local government. However, this Government has a clear commitment to improving education – and maintaining both teacher and support staff numbers and learning hours is crucial to that.

“I recognise the importance of strong partnership working between local government, central government and Education Scotland to achieve our ambitions.

“I will be writing to COSLA today, and each individual council in the coming days, to set out the details on protecting teacher and support staff numbers, and next steps on learning hours.”

COSLA HIGHLIGHTS MASSIVE CONTRADICTION IN RELATION TO EDUCATION AND COUNCIL FUNDING

COSLA yesterday (Tuesday) highlighted to the Scottish Government a massive contradiction in relation to Scottish Education and council funding. This followed an emergency meeting of Council Leaders on Friday and ahead of Ms Somerville’s Parliamentary statement.

At Friday’s meeting Council Leaders reacted with great disappointment to the Scottish Government’s cutting of Local Government’s funding on the one hand whilst at the same time legislating/intervening to prevent headlines showing the unpalatable consequences of those cuts.

Councils are unanimous that attainment is not just about teacher numbers, especially in areas where school rolls are declining, and depends also on a wide range of other council services and support staff.

Accordingly, councils must be left with the flexibility to manage their inadequate budgets to minimise the impact on attainment and the other services the public depend upon. To do more than this will require the Scottish Government to provide additional funding, not more restriction.

Council leaders were clear that Local Government wants to protect education. Councils want to continue to improve the attainment and achievement of children and young people, whilst also retaining the teachers and support staff that are required to do this. It’s the Budget which is putting these things at risk, not Local Government.

COSLA said that the reality is that Scottish Government Budgets over a decade have left us with a funding crisis in Local Government the likes of which have never been seen before.

Commenting yesterday in a joint statement, COSLA’s Presidential Team said: “The timing and approach of the Scottish Government’s latest move undermines the democratic mandate of Local Government and is a U-turn on previously agreed flexibilities for councils over their budgets.

“It is not the case that Local Government wants to cut any of our services; we have to work with the budgets we have and unless there is more funding, we are forced to make democratic decisions on priorities for the communities we serve.

“On the one hand our budgets have been cut in real terms, and on the other hand the Scottish Government is intervening with additional policies which means significant cuts will have to be made in other areas that support children, young people, families and our communities.

“We have been clear about the limited options facing Local Government because of the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2023/24, a view which is shared by the independent body Accounts Commission.

“We have also highlighted the impact of the initial proposed interventions on other Local Government services, including those which directly support the attainment, health and wellbeing of children and young people.

“These latest asks and the Government’s narrative demonstrates a Government who does not fully value and respect Local Government’s role. Asks of this nature are addressing a symptom, not the cause.”

£1.6 million to support New Scots

Additional funding has been secured to support work to integrate refugees across Scotland. The £1.6 million in funding will focus on the development of a refreshed New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy, ensuring refugees and asylum seekers are supported to make their new communities their home.

Further projects to receive funding include:

small grants to enable wide-scale public engagement across Scotland for the refreshed New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy. This will enable organisations to host engagement events for existing and recently arrived New Scots and ensure barriers to attendance are minimised, including travel and childcare
the extension of University of Glasgow’s international research into New Scots integration for Afghan and Ukrainian Nationals, focussing on efforts made by the Scottish Government, local authorities and the third sector to support integration
Refugee Festival Scotland – a focal point and celebration of all New Scots in Scotland. This will include providing small grants to organisations to enable them to host events as part of the Festival
£500,000 in targeted funding for two of the highest priority areas: ESOL and Employability. The arrival of people from Afghanistan and Ukraine has reinforced the critical importance of employment in allowing all New Scots to rebuild their lives safely and securely thereby reducing the risk of poverty

External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson said: “Scotland has a long history of welcoming people of all nationalities and faiths, including those seeking refuge from war and persecution.

“While continuing to support all refugees and people seeking asylum, in recent years we have seen two large scale resettlement efforts from Afghanistan and Ukraine, with over 20,000 displaced people from Ukraine alone arriving in Scotland since February 2022 and we have had to move quickly to get people the support they need to settle into their new communities.

“The Scottish Government and our New Scots partners are committed to supporting the integration of refugees and people seeking asylum into our communities and providing the safety and security they need as they begin to rebuild their lives.

“Our compassionate approach to support refugees and people seeking asylum living in Scotland is clear and this vital funding will ensure work can continue to refresh the New Scots strategy to take account of the significant changes in recent years and ensure any key learning is reflected.”

COSLA Community and Wellbeing Spokesperson Councillor Maureen Chalmers said: ““COSLA is really pleased to continue to work with partners to build on the previous work of the New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project, to ensure there is a robust and responsive strategy to support all communities seeking protection in Scotland. Local authorities play a key role in integration and supporting their communities, including refugees and asylum seekers.

“This funding therefore gives a much needed boost to integration work and in particular the areas of employment and language, as well as supporting the development of the next New Scots Strategy.”

Scottish Refugee Council CEO Sabir Zazi said: “Successful, well integrated communities need support, both for the individuals seeking safety in Scotland and the local areas receiving them.

“We’re particularly pleased to see funding in place to boost English language support and to help people back into employment. These are two areas that are crucial to integration, both for the individuals and families affected and the communities receiving them.”

UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow Alison Phipps said: “At this critical time for those who have sought refuge and asylum in Scotland the successful securing of extended funds for ESOL and Employability projects is greatly needed.

“This builds on the success of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy as a world leading internationally acclaimed partnership, built on human rights that allows us to make confident steps towards the launch, by the New Scots Partnership, of a refreshed New Scots strategy.”

the New Scots refugee integration strategy,

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Education: COSLA seeks urgent talks with Scottish Government following emergency meeting

A COSLA Spokesperson said: “Following an emergency meeting of Leaders today (Friday) Council Leaders have agreed that COSLA approach the Scottish Government seeking urgent further discussions around their expectations for education. There was agreement that Scottish Government expectations cannot be met unless additional necessary resources are provided.

“Council Leaders re-emphasised their great disappointment with the approach taken by Scottish Government on this matter which is neither in the spirit of partnership working nor recognises councils’ legitimate authority to make decisions on the services they deliver on behalf of their local communities.”

“A mandate has been provided to open discussions to consider how the government’s priorities might be delivered, including considerations on the flexibilities and the overall quantum of funding in the Local Government settlement and establish a shared understanding of the best path forward, to achieve our shared objective of closing the attainment gap and maintaining other vital local services.”

“Leaders remain committed to improving attainment and closing the poverty related attainment gap and achieving the best outcomes possible for all young people. Local Government has made good progress in the last few years and have seen the biggest ever decrease in the gap.

Leaders acknowledge this is down to the partnership working between local and central government pulling together for a shared outcome, which always provides the best opportunity to achieve our ambitions in difficult circumstances.”

The Salaries Committee of the EIS has highlighted that the First Minister has it within her power to bring an end to the current dispute over teacher pay.

This follows a question at First Minister’s Questions in Parliament, where the First Minister said that she “very much hoped” that a resolution to the pay dispute could be reached “soon”.

Commenting following a meeting of the EIS Salaries Committee on Thursday afternoon, where the ongoing dispute over pay dominated the agenda, EIS Salaries Convener Des Morris said, “While the EIS Salaries Committee very much shares the First Minister’s ‘hope’ that a resolution to the pay dispute can be reached ‘soon’, we would also point out that the ability to settle the dispute is very much within the First Minister’s power.

“The only thing that will settle this dispute is an improved offer to Scotland’s teachers, one that is both fair and affordable to them, which will involve additional new money from the Scottish Government.

“This is what was done to settle disputes with other local government workers. It is the First Minister who has ultimate control over the purse strings so, if she wishes this dispute to be settled soon, the First Minister should authorise the Cabinet Secretary and her officials to release the comparatively modest additional funding needed to end this dispute.”

Mr Morris continued, “The truth is, that little or no progress has been made towards an agreement for several months. There are currently no further pay negotiations scheduled within the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT).

“Negotiating meetings through the SNCT have become profoundly frustrating affairs, as Scottish Government negotiators are coming into talks with their hands effectively tied and with no additional money to offer. We have been extremely clear that the current 5% offer on the table – which was itself simply a repackaging of a previously rejected 5% offer – will not be accepted by Scotland’s teachers.

“We have now rejected sub-inflationary 5% offers twice, and underlined this rejection through three days of strike action by most EIS members, so only a fresh offer which is good enough to put to our members for consideration can hope to halt strike action in our schools.”

Mr Morris added, “As ever, the EIS remains ready and willing to re-enter discussions with the Scottish Government and Scottish local authorities to discuss a new pay offer for teachers.

“We are not, however, willing to continue discussing the same offer that has now been rejected by teachers twice. The Scottish Government and COSLA must come up with an improved offer to allow pay discussions to progress towards an agreement that genuinely reflects both the soaring cost of living and the value of Scotland’s teachers.”