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)
::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 Lossiemouth and Kinloss barracks in the area, a number of the spouses of those serving there who travel up with the rest of their family are qualified to teach in England but are barred from teaching in Scotland unless they get a Scottish qualification. It would ease the efforts of Moray Council considerably if that issue could be resolved. I have raised the issue repeatedly with the cabinet secretary, and I think that she was sympathetic to it. Can we just get a solution?
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...