YOUSAF SCHOOL HOURS U-TURN

Leaked letter to councils chief suggest FM could water down minimum teaching time legislation

- PAUL HUTCHESON

HUMZA Yousaf is U-turning over key plans to impose a legal minimum number of learning hours for pupils at school.

A leaked letter shows the First Minister is open to a voluntary agreement with council chiefs on school hours.

But local authority bosses slammed the proposal as they feel it will be too expensive.

Primary schools currently provide about 25 "learning hours" a week and secondaries about 27.5, but the exact number is not set by law.

Earlier this year, councils tried to save cash by trimming the school week, which led to ministers proposing to set a legal minimum.

But the plan for a legally enforceable minimum school week has now been caught up in a wider dispute over the Scottish Government's plan for a council tax freeze.

Council umbrella group Cosla said last month the learning hours proposal would have to be ditched as a condition for supporting a freeze.

In a leaked letter from Yousaf to Cosla president Shona Morrison, the First Minister rowed back on imposing a minimum number of learning hours across councils.