An SNP-led council, which claims to be in the grip of a cash crisis and plans to raise council taxes, is set to enroll its staff in “woke” training courses on unconscious bias (UBT).

Argyll and Bute town hall bosses could ask staff to educate themselves on politically correct causes such as white privilege and toxic masculinity, in a move critics fear will be a distraction from their current jobs.

It comes as the council estimates it faces a £9 million budgetary black hole for next year and is seeking to increase council tax by at least 5 per cent to pay for this.

The Scottish Government last week lifted a council tax freeze, allowing local authorities to increase rates as high as they see fit.

Next month Argyll and Bute will also make a decision on whether to impose a visitor tax to help raise more funds.

However, despite considerable tax increases, bosses are considering recruiting trainers to combat the unknown prejudices of their employees towards minorities or protected groups, according to market notices consulted by this newspaper.

Last night the director of the Free Speech Union in Scotland, Fraser Hudghton, said: “Unconscious bias training is the woke Stasi’s favorite way of getting us all to admit how we are terrible beings.

“The problem is that this is a lot of garbage and just increases prejudice where there was none before.”

SNP-led Argyll and Bute council leader Jim Lynch plans staff training

Fraser Hudghton of the Free Speech Union in Scotland denounced the plans.

Scottish Conservative Alexander Stewart suggested the council should consider its priorities

Conservative MP Alexander Stewart said: “The SNP-led Argyll and Bute Council should be candid about why they think spending money in this way is a priority.

UBT is designed to change attitudes toward groups that experience discrimination. However, some evidence suggests it may be ineffective – and even reinforce harmful stereotypes.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission found that “there is a risk of adverse effects when participants are exposed to information suggesting that stereotypes and prejudices are immutable”.

Argyll and Bute Council said: “We are exploring training options in a number of areas and no decisions have yet been made. »