PDE Column, Monday 14th December 2009 – Santa Supports Charities as Bankers Withdraw, Teacher Jobs Struggle

Santa supports charities as bankers withdraw

One of the most imaginative Christmas presents I have come across this year is from the National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). They have been running a Santa reply service. For a small donation to the NSPCC they will send a colourful, personalised letter from Santa to your child. For more information and to order call 0845 839 9304 or online at www.nspcc.org.uk/santa . You’ll have act quickly to use the service this year as the last day for ordering is the 16th. 

I mention it also because the wider fundraising challenges facing our charities are real. A huge step backwards was the decision of Lloyds Banking Group – a recipient of hundreds of millions of pounds worth of taxpayers guarantees over the last 15 months, to threaten the ending of its existing Covenant with its own charitable foundation.  Lloyds wants to halve from 1% of pre-tax profits to the cash going to its charitable arm.

Astonishingly the bank bosses – whose bank has benefited from billions from the taxpayer over the last year – seem reluctant to think again. When they appeared at the Parliament’s Economy Committee recently I left them in no doubt about how local charities feel about their plans to halve funds to their own Foundation.  Vital projects like Renfrewshire Carers Centre are currently benefiting from Lloyds TSB Foundation support. 

Leading banks were quick enough to demand taxpayer support to stop them going under so it is a disgrace they now seem loath to show a little charity themselves. The public have every right to be outraged.

On the subject if Renfrewshire Carers I was delighted to join them to celebrate National Carers Day recently – marked here in Renfrewshire by the launch of a new training service for local carers.  The training programme runs throughout 2010 and looks likely to be another big success for the local Carer’s Centre.

Teacher Jobs Struggle

This week sees important council meetings. For months my postbag has brought many letters or emails from newly-qualified teachers languishing without a job. Renfrewshire did not give a single one of its probationers from last year a full-time permanent job when the schools went back in August. One reason why there were so few jobs for new teachers in Renfrewshire is that 210 teaching posts in Renfrewshire have been axed in the last 2 years.

Renfrewshire now has the worst pupil teacher ratios in the whole of Scotland.  Renfrewshire’s administration has been axing teacher posts at three times the national rate. And our pupil teacher ratios in Renfrewshire have risen a whopping six times faster than across Scotland as a whole.

In Holyrood the First Minister recognised he had to act to put things right. We have begun to see some change of direction. Will we also get that vital change of direction in Renfrewshire?

Later this week Renfrewshire’s Education Board and Council can also start putting things right.  Just two months ago the SNP-led Administration voted down calls for a report into the arrangements for supply and ex-probationary teachers to see if any improvements could be made.

Meanwhile we still have local teachers who are getting no work and are having to sign on or work in evenings in shops, cafes and care homes.  All so they can make ends meet whilst they wait for a few days’ supply work.

It is time they got a fair deal in Renfrewshire.  Of 14 different budgets agreed by the Council, education came fourth bottom in the percentage change in resources it got this year. 

Ten other Council budgets did better than education according to a letter from the Chief Executive to MPs and MSPs (1 June 09). For example – leisure, environmental, finance, planning, roads and social work – all got a better deal from the budget – all got a real terms rise in resources.  Overall Renfrewshire’s budget was rising but education still got short-changed. This cannot continue.

It is time for an early New Year resolution from Councillors “we promise to stop short-changing local schools compared to other departments”. Otherwise I predict this issue will be every bit as toxic for the SNP in Cotton Street as it has proved to be for the SNP in Holyrood.