At the Council's Budget Meeting this afternoon (Thursday 13 February 2014), the alternative budget savings Labour Councillors have identified will allow us to propose an amendment to the budget brought forward by the SNP Administration of the Council.
I am relieved that we have found a way to stop the removal of the Early Years Practitioners who work in twenty two of our Primary Schools in the City. These practitioners, many educated to degree level, make an important contribution to pupils learning by, for example, taking reading and maths groups in P1-3 classes.
I trust that the SNP Administration will recognise the weight of public opinion against this damaging cut and support our amendment.
Since the SNP took over the administration of the Council in April 2009, they have removed staff from our Primary Schools year after year.
In successive budgets they have cut a Deputy Head Teacher from each of our Primary Schools, removed the team of visiting teachers of PE and Music from working in all our primary schools and increased class sizes.
This time I hope they will step back from imposing a damaging further cutback in our Primary Schools, which we have shown can be avoided.
At the Policy and Resources Committee on Monday evening 10 February, we considered a draft response to:
"Our ambitions for improving the life chances of young people in Scotland: Draft National Youth Work Strategy 2014-19."
This is my contribution to the debate:
Convener, we welcome this strategy and the Council's draft response. Our young people, deserve quality youth work provision wherever they live in Dundee.
This Draft Strategy for Youth Work states that:
"All young people should have access to high quality and effective youth work practice. It is only by planning young people at the heart of our work that we can begin to develop services and realise ambitions."
These objectives are ones we support.
But the Council's ringing endorsement of youth work and the new strategy appears to be at odds with the budget proposals we will be considering later this week (Thursday 13 February 2014) which propose a reduction of the equivalent of 4 full time Youth Workers. Over two years this would amount to a 7% cut in youth worker provision in Dundee.
Words in a strategy are cheap Convener. Young people in Dundee will judge you by your actions and whether your administration is at least maintaining the number of youth workers in our city.
