ARGYLL and Bute Council has said it will continue to monitor its teacher numbers after Scottish Government funding was withheld.

It was announced last week that £145.5 million of funding nationwide was put on hold, due to disagreements over ringfencing for teacher numbers.

Education secretary Jenny Gilruth took the decision after the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) reportedly disagreed with the money being used specifically for that purpose.

A report to Argyll and Bute Council’s policy and resources committee previously stated that the authority was hoping for £2.1m of the funding.

A further £800,000 would have to be spent from the council’s own finances to maintain the current number of 848 teachers across the area.

A council spokesperson told the Advertiser: “We monitor our teacher numbers on a regular basis and are aware of the Scottish Government’s expectations.”

Ms Gilruth said: “I have not allowed that funding to flow out the door.

“This year we tried to get to a resolution with COSLA whereby they would agree in advance to the grant conditions attached to this funding – they would agree to maintain their teacher numbers.

“COSLA refused to do that unfortunately – back in February actually. So since that time we’ve been working with them to try to get a mechanism whereby we can get this funding out the door. We’ve not yet been able to arrive at that.”

A COSLA spokesperson said: “Workforce decisions should be taken at a local level, dependent on local needs and circumstances.

“Measuring teacher numbers does not tell us anything about outcomes for children and young people, which is where our attention should be focused.

“Ringfencing spending on teachers forces even deeper cuts on services, including those for children with additional support needs, social work support, early intervention services, cultural services, youth work, and libraries – all of which are vital to supporting children and young people, improving attainment, and closing the poverty-related attainment gap.”

In the council report, which went before the policy and resources committee on Thursday, October 10, executive director Kirsty Flanagan said: “As part of the 2023/24 local government finance settlement the Scottish Government held back £45.5m on the condition that councils maintained teacher numbers at the 2022 census level. The December 2023 census showed a reduction in teacher numbers of 160.

“Ultimately, the Scottish Government released the £45.5m to all local authorities, regardless of whether they maintained teacher numbers.

“The Scottish Government has, for 2024-25, removed £145.5m from the general revenue grant and has instead issued this as a specific grant, conditional on maintaining teacher numbers at the level set out in each council’s grant letter.

“For Argyll and Bute Council this is £2.1m and there is an expectation that we will maintain 848 teachers, this was the figure returned in the 2023 census and 13 teachers more than in the base budget.

“To maintain a figure of 848 teachers would result in a cost pressure of £0.880m. Discussions are continuing between COSLA and the Scottish Government and at this stage the additional cost has not been added into the budget outlook but there remains a risk that if we do not maintain the teacher numbers in our grant letter then some or all of the specific grant could be withheld.”