Question reference: S6W-09282
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 23 June 2022
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 August 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific financial support is in place for teachers who are unable to find employment.
Answer
Universal Credit is available as support for those unemployed and there are other benefits such as Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), however these are all reserved to the UK Government. Furthermore Employment Law is also reserved to the UK Government and the Scottish Government has no powers over associated policies.
We have provided £240 million of additional investment over two financial years, and a further £145.5 million of permanent funding from April this year, to support the employment of additional teachers and support staff.
We will also fund 3,500 additional teachers and 500 support staff over this Parliamentary term – over and above the 1,400 teachers recruited during the pandemic.
We will continue to work closely with COSLA regarding the employment of teachers, to maximise the number of jobs available, including permanent posts.