Question reference: S6W-11589
- Date lodged: 20 December 2022
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Current status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 January 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the full £20 million of funding to support the roll-out of counselling provision, as committed to in the 2018-19 Programme for Government, has been delivered, and, if this is not the case, for what reason.
Answer
This is the final year of our four year commitment to support over 80 additional counsellors in Further and Higher Education which we set out in our Programme for Government in 2018 and reiterated in 2021. We have exceeded that target, with 89 additional counsellors now working to support students across our institutions.
This has been delivered with investment of £11.5 million to date, with a further £2 million provided to March 2023. We have also confirmed that we remain committed to provide further funding in the remainder of Academic Year 22-23 (April – July 2023), which falls into the first four months of our FY 23-24. Funds have been earmarked within the final 2023-24 Scottish Budget process and final allocations will be confirmed as soon as possible as part of the Scottish Government budget setting exercise.