Meeting of the Parliament 28 May 2025
I thank Willie Rennie and the Scottish Liberal Democrats for bringing to Parliament this crucial motion, which we will support at decision time. Scottish Labour will also support the amendment in the name of Miles Briggs. However, we cannot support the Government amendment, which would delete crucial aspects of the motion.
We must recognise that the Government’s failure to recruit the staff who are needed is a critical part of the issues that we are seeing in schools today. Again, the cabinet secretary has not helped with the perception that the Government does not take responsibility for that by pointing to things being worse elsewhere and by saying that councils should act, that universities should be the workforce planners and that the GTCS should step in. There was nothing about what the Government will do. When will the Government provide the leadership that is so desperately needed?
The Government amendment seeks to delete the call for the Government to provide the leadership that is needed on a workforce plan and instead would replace the commitment with warm words on partnership working. We cannot support a Government amendment that passes the buck to local authorities—the very local authorities that have failed to provide support and resources to do the job. That is not leadership. It is the Scottish Government that sets national priorities. It made the promises, so it must now be held to account.