Funding for Teachers and Schools in Scotland

As an amendment to motion S6M-15060 in the name of Miles Briggs (Funding for Teachers and Schools in Scotland), insert at end "; notes that education is the largest area of local government spending, and therefore believes that further reform of local government finances, and particularly council tax, is critical to the sustainable funding of teacher posts and other education services, and that all parties should be invited to contribute proposals to the Joint Working Group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform; welcomes recent progress on fiscal empowerment of local authorities, including the devolution of empty property relief, greater council tax discretion in relation to second and holiday homes, the visitor levy, and the commitments to further work, including on a cruise ship levy, public health supplement and general power of competence, and believes that the Scottish Government and local authorities should work together to protect teacher numbers and to improve retention by reducing workload pressures caused by unnecessary bureaucracy and policies that provide insufficient additional value."