Tavish welcomes hostel charging decision
SHETLAND MSP has welcomed a decision by the isles’ council to drop plans of introducing a £25 per week charge for island S5 pupils staying at the Janet Courtney hostel, in Lerwick.
The plan, accepted by the council back in February, could not be realised because the local authority can’t charge pupils below the legal age of leaving school, which is 16.
The proposal, which would have earned the council just under £23,000, had been condemned by some councillors as a tax on island families.
Political leader Gary Robinson said implementing a charging regime to over 16 year olds would have achieved only 20 per cent of that amount.
The savings will now be achieved by deleting a further half a post from education’s secondary staffing.
Mr Scott said on Wednesday: “Since the idea of charging was offered to the council at the beginning of February many families have worried and stressed about this additional financial burden. This could and should have been avoided.
“I would encourage the council to look into the legalities of their proposals before putting them into the public domain. We all know cuts must be made but they must be legal and fair above all else.”
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