Chamber and committees

Will Mr O’Kane give way?

Scotland’s teachers are vital to driving improvements in our schools, raising attainment and closing the poverty-related attainment gap. That is the reason why we are providing local authorities with £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers and why the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and I are committed to working with our local authority partners to ensure the best possible education for every child in Scotland.

This Government is investing in our social care system and investing in the provision of care services throughout this country in a more significant way than is provided for by the financial allocations made to Scotland by the United Kingdom Government. Mr Findlay, of course, was a supporter of Liz Truss. We can—[Interruption.]

The Conservatives obviously do not like being reminded that Mr Findlay—[Interruption.]

The teaching profession is fundamental to our education system in Scotland. I saw that first hand when I was education secretary, and I reiterate what I have put on the record today, which is that teachers play a critical role in the achievement of the Government’s objectives on education. It is for that reason that we are making available the resources to protect teacher numbers. Pam Duncan-Glancy has said to me that local authorities have not yet agreed to accept that money. A way of stabilising the teaching profession would be for local authorities to agree to accept the money that the Government has put on the table. That would be the simplest way to take things forward. I think that it would help local authority financing to have certainty from the Government about investment in the teaching profession, which has always been our priority.

I am very pleased that we have reached a situation in which the teaching profession has accepted the pay offer that has been made through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers. That provides further stability for the teaching profession, and it means that teachers in Scotland continue to be the best paid in the United Kingdom.

That is precisely what the Government is doing. I have just put on the public record the fact that the Government has increased social care spending by 25 per cent—which was our target—and has delivered that early.

Members of the Parliament must accept that we have to operate within a budget that is agreed by this Parliament. Within the commitments that we have made, we have increased social care expenditure so that care workers are paid more, which they are, and so that more care workers are employed, as they are being, to make sure that we can deliver that care.

However, there is a challenge from rising demand, which is why the delayed discharge figure is so high, and we have variations in performance among the different areas of the country. Those are the realities that we are wrestling with.

Reducing public expenditure or not continuing to invest in that service will not help us. Mr Sarwar now represents the position of wanting to change what we have done on tax. He does not support the extra investment that we have generated from tax decisions; he supports a United Kingdom Government that is carrying on with austerity. We have to break out of the austerity cycle—we need investment. This Government is committed to that, but I do not think that Mr Sarwar is.

There is a lot in Mr Whittle’s question with which I agree. The opportunity to have a fulfilling life that does not require any resort to alcohol or drug dependency can often be delivered by participation in many of the organisations and activities that he mentions. I assure him that I strongly support the work of the third sector and many of the organisations that he talks about—I very much practise that in my parliamentary and ministerial activities.

The only note of discord that I would sound is that we have to find the money from somewhere. I keep coming back to the point that it is all very well for members of Parliament to come here and ask us to fund things and make other provision—which I think is totally valuable—but they must say where they would find the resources for that if they are not going to support us with regard to having the means to do so.

Mr Whittle’s party was responsible for the chaos in our public finances with which we wrestle, and the Government is working our way through those challenges. I simply appeal to Mr Whittle to follow through on his commitment to encourage me to support those organisations and activities by supporting us in having the means to invest in them through the budget process.

As Mr Kerr will know, teachers are employed by individual local authorities. [Interruption.] If we have got to the point that Conservative Party members groan when statements of fact are put on the record, the Conservative Party is in a pretty dismal position. [Interruption.]

Local authorities employ teachers, and the Government works with local authorities on workforce planning. All those factors are taken into account when admission levels for initial teacher education are set, which is a collaboration between the Government and local authorities. That is the point that I was going to make before the groaning started from Conservative members. Workforce planning is undertaken in Scotland to ensure that we have a sufficient supply of qualified teachers to contribute to the education profession. I will ask the education secretary to reflect on whether further refinements are required in the light of Mr Kerr’s question. We undertake workforce planning because it informs the admission to initial teacher education, which is critical to ensuring that we have all the skills that are necessary for our teaching profession in Scotland.

I understand the concerns that Mr Macpherson raises on behalf of his constituents. I assure him that we will do all that we can to encourage the site to be secured. We will work closely with the City of Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland to identify solutions to the challenges that are faced in the Granton area. As Mr Macpherson knows, the project for National Galleries of Scotland is an important Government commitment. We look forward to taking the necessary steps to secure the site in advance of its development.