Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 29 January 2026 [Draft]
29 Jan 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Portfolio Question Time
Teacher Recruitment (Rural Areas)
::To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the recruitment of teachers in rural areas. (S6O-05445)
References in this contribution
Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.
In the same item of business
3. Alexander Burnett (Aberdeenshire West) (Con)
Con
::To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the recruitment of teachers in rural areas. (S6O-05445)
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
::Last week, we launched a new national teacher recruitment marketing campaign, which includes activity designed to encourage those thinking about a career i...
Alexander Burnett
Con
::As part of its budget, Aberdeenshire Council is expecting £9.4 million from the Scottish Government to maintain or increase teacher numbers and to reduce c...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
::I will walk Alexander Burnett back to my comments in response to his colleague Roz McCall, in which I alluded to the fact that, when the probationer scheme...
Douglas Ross (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
::We have a shortage of teachers in Moray, but not necessarily a shortage of people who are willing to teach. With the large military footprint of RAF Lossie...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
::I am sympathetic to Mr Ross’s points. Of course, matters pertaining to the registration of teachers in Scotland are for the GTCS to address. I encourage Mr...
Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
::This is another example of poor workforce planning. To be frank, we are having real difficulty, with a surplus at primary level and, by and large, a shorta...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
::I agree with the sentiment behind Mr Rennie’s question, but I return to the points that I made to Mr Burnett. Consider the kingdom of Fife, in which Mr Ren...