A Highlands and Islands MSP has warned over the impact of proposed cuts by Moray Council to their Essential Skills service.
Jamie Halcro Johnston, who is Shadow Minister for Skills, Jobs and Employability, has spoken out ahead of a meeting of the council (Wednesday 25th September) that will discuss scrapping the service, which provides vital support to adult learners aiming to improve their writing, spelling and maths.
The Scottish Conservatives MSP said: “The Essential Skills service provides vital support for people who left school without qualifications.
“Cutting it could have a real impact on the life chances of the people it helps, many of whom are recent school-leavers and who are looking for an opportunity to improve their skills and get into employment.
“It is deeply worrying that the extreme financial pressures facing Moray Council are now leading to councillors having to consider ending such an important service.”
At the same meeting councillors are also being asked to slash the opening hours of most of Moray’s libraries and make cuts to the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) service.
Mr Halcro Johnston added: “It is extraordinary that a council which is run by the SNP, and which is represented at Holyrood by an SNP MSP who is a minister in the Scottish Government with responsibilities for education, can seriously be considering cuts of this nature.
“The council must think again on their plans and look to find solutions which do not harm the prospects of those people most impacted by these latest proposed cuts.”
