Rennie: If they have no money left for teachers, ‘skint’ SNP government have mismanaged public finances

Responding to the comments from the Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, right, who stated that “there is no separate pot of money” in the government’s budget to reach pay deals for teachers on this morning’s BBC Good Morning Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP said:  “The Education Secretary’s comments are an insult to the tens of thousands of teachers up and down the country who are overworked and undervalued.

“It is a shocking mismanagement of public finances if the Scottish Government has run out of money. They should scrap the pointless national testing of P1s, give up on a reckless bid to break up the UK and halt the billion-pound bureaucratic takeover of health and social care that the SNP’s own MSPs can’t even support.

“Children simply cannot afford more disruption in classrooms, but the Scottish Government is leaving teachers with no other choice but to strike.  “

Mr Rennie, left, added: “Scottish Liberal Democrats have consistently argued that teachers need a fair deal, with a review of pay and conditions, a teacher job guarantee, permanent contracts and a workforce plan to secure the profession in the long-term.

“The Scottish Government’s predictable position of pleading poverty just doesn’t cut it. It should have prioritised its finances to ensure a proper pay rise for teachers.”