Education and skills funding in Scotland rises to £3.57bn

Education and skills funding in Scotland will rise 1.7% in real terms to £3.57 billion, under the proposed Scottish Budget 2020-21.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Within our Budget, we are again investing in improving the life chances of our children and young people through excellence and equity in education, which continues to be the principal mission of this Government.

“Everyone deserves the same chances to reach their full potential, whatever their background or circumstances, which is why we are increasing the education and skills budget this year by more than £122 million to £3.57 billion, a real-terms increase of 1.7%.

“To help close the attainment gap and improve attainment, we will again invest £182 million to the Attainment Scotland Fund. This includes £120 million in Pupil Equity Funding to be spent at the direction of head teachers, while teacher pay is increasing.”

Alongside funding delivered through the local government settlement, he said almost £645 million will go into the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare to provide 1,140 hours per child per year from this August - almost double the current entitlement and the most generous in the UK - benefitting children and allowing parents and carers to explore work, education or training opportunities.

The college sector also receives an above-inflation resource spending increase of 3.6% to train or upskill Scotland's workforce, while the university sector receives a real-terms funding uplift to maintain the country's position as a world leader in learning, science and innovation - particularly important in the context of the UK’s departure from the EU.