Tories call for extension to school day in catch-up plan

The Scottish Conservatives want to see the school day extended as part of a plan to help pupils catch up with learning missed during the pandemic.

The party's council election manifesto calls on the government to fund a pilot of longer days for extra teaching.

Other policies include local tutoring schemes and after-school classes, as well as changes to the curriculum.

Leader Douglas Ross said Tory councillors would be "totally focused" on helping schools and local services.

His party also wants to hold down council tax rates, improve local roads and support businesses with business rates-free zones on high streets.

Elections to all 32 of Scotland's local authorities will be held on 5 May.

• Five things to watch in Scotland's local elections

• A simple guide to the Scottish council elections

• Read the Scottish Tory manifesto in full

The Conservatives performed strongly in the last set of elections in 2017, with the party more than doubling the number of councillors returned and overtaking Labour into second place.

Mr Ross is aiming to build on that result, but in recent days has seen the campaign dominated by discussion of Prime Minister Boris Johnson being fined for breaking lockdown laws.

The Scottish Tory leader - who withdrew calls for Mr Johnson's resignation in response to the war in Ukraine - has insisted that May's election is about local priorities and issues.

He said: "Scottish Conservative councillors will be totally focused on helping schools to catch up pupils, fixing local roads and protecting local services, all while keeping council tax increases low.

"We will stand up for your community against SNP government centralisation and put your priorities first."

The manifesto says Tory councillors "will make our schools their number one priority".

Much of this is focused on efforts to help pupils catch up after the Covid-19 pandemic, which the party said had an "enormous impact on our children and young people's education".

Policies include local tutoring schemes and extra funding for after-school classes, with payments for teachers who deliver extra revision sessions in the run-up to exams for pupils who need extra help.

The manifesto also says Tory councillors would "pressure the SNP government to fund a pilot extension to the school day, to further help pupils to catch up on missed learning".

It also repeats the long-standing Conservative goal of replacing the Curriculum for Excellence, saying there should be a "national conversation" about introducing a new system.

Tax changes

The Tories have also pledged to keep council tax increases as low as possible, while increasing the single person's discount to 35% - benefitting almost a million households.

The party also wants to raise the national threshold for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) to encourage home ownership, and allow councillors to vary thresholds locally to take account of house prices in different areas.

It wants to deliver a "fair deal for communities" by funnelling more cash from Holyrood to town halls, pledging to bring forward compulsory funding levels similar to the Barnett formula which determines the Scottish government's budget.

There is also a focus on local roads, with improvements to key routes and a drive to fix potholes, as well as a promise to scrap high street parking charges and oppose any implementation of the workplace parking levy.

The Tories also want councils to put in "every possible bid" for levelling up funds on offer from the UK government, with Mr Ross saying that "more direct UK government investment in Scotland can only be a good thing".

Mr Ross's speech at the manifesto launch event was briefly interrupted by campaigner Sean Clerkin, who has targeted a number of Conservative events in the past.