Scottish Government refuses to release Prince Charles' letters 'showing him lobbying for Teach First'

The Scottish Government has refused to release letters that allegedly show the Prince of Wales lobbying on behalf of a teacher training charity.

Prince Charles is the patron of Teach First, which runs a programme fast-tracking thousands of graduates into primary and secondary schools.

But the organisation has refused to detail the extent of his lobbying activity on its behalf and Scottish ministers have rejected three requests to publish letters and documents showing him supporting its proposed expansion.

An investigation by the Guardian found Prince Charles' office first contacted the Scottish Government in April 2012 – the same day Teach First sent the Scottish education secretary a briefing on its plans for teacher training.

Mike Russell, now the Scottish National Party’s Brexit minister, later attended a Teach First reception at Holyrood and instructed civil servants to keep him updated on discussions between the group and the General Teaching Council Scotland about its proposals.

Officials have also redacted correspondence and briefing papers, including at least two relating to Teach First, from between 2012 and 2014 on the grounds they relate to the Prince of Wales, the Guardian reported.

The content of Prince Charles’ communications remain unknown but Iain Gray, the education spokesman for Scottish Labour, said the pattern of communications “can only raise questions of policy being made as a result of pressure”.

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Teach First refused to give any information on the future monarch’s involvement and referred The Independent to Clarence House, which said it was unable to comment or release information on the communications.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government confirmed disclosure requests had been turned down under Section 41 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act, which exempts communications with the Queen and royal family.

The law allows the exemption to be overturned in the public interest but the requested communications did not meet the test applied.

Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said the fact Teach First earns a fee for every trainee recruited – standing at £2,600 per person in England – created a potential conflict of interest.

“Those who seek to influence Government policy must understand that the public have a right to know what they are doing,” he told The Independent.

“The public interest is very strong one with charities supported by Prince Charles [and] with this particular correspondence, Teach First now has a financial interest in the outcome.”

Mr Frankel argued that the Scottish Government’s refusals went against the findings of a long-running legal battle over Prince Charles’ “black spider” memos to politicians, which were eventually released.

The case started with another Freedom of Information refusal in 2010 and escalated through the Upper Tribunal, which ruled that it was in the public interest “for there to be transparency as to how and when Prince Charles seeks to influence government”.

That decision was vetoed by the Government but the move was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court and the letters were published, showing Prince Charles lobbying Tony Blair and senior ministers on policy.

The release showed Prince Charles writing to successive education secretaries to change teaching methods and asking for support for summer schools by run by the Prince’s Teaching Institute charity.

The future king did not become a patron of Teach First until 2008 – three years after the “black spider” memos were written.

Scottish schools are currently understaffed, with up to 500 vacancies unfilled at the start of the autumn term according to local reports, and the Scottish Government’s education and skills committee is reviewing ways to boost recruitment.

Teach First is among those putting forward proposals to plug the gap by offering recruits a five-week university course before being sent into classrooms where they work towards a postgraduate diploma.

It is the largest graduate recruiter in the UK but operates only in England and Wales, but has received a cooler welcome in Scotland, where only qualified teachers are allowed in secondary schools after completing a university degree in their subject and one-year diploma.

Teachers’ trade union the Educational Institute of Scotland is among the groups opposing Teach First, saying awarding it a contract would be a “betrayal of the high professional standards we operate in Scotland”.

A spokesperson said that while there is a need to attract and retain more qualified teachers, quality must not be sacrificed.

“We must ensure that our high standards are maintained by continuing to guarantee that only fully qualified GTCS-registered teachers are teaching in our schools,” he added. “There can be no short-cuts in tackling this issue, and there must not be any dilution in the very high standards of teaching in our schools.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said £1m had been committed to developing new ways to recruit teachers and that an unspecified “new initiative” would soon be put out to tender to attract graduates in priority subjects.

“The primary aim of the development of new routes into teaching is to broaden the range of people entering the teaching profession, not fast-tracking the qualification of new teachers,” she added.

“Ministers have made clear that we will always maintain the high standard we expect new recruits to attain before they become fully-fledged teachers.

“This means that any new route into teaching must be accredited by the General Teaching Council for Scotland and will require a partnership with a university to maintain academic rigour and ensure programmes are of the highest quality.”