Part of First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 3 October 2024.
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.