Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 13 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that any funding directed at supporting additional support needs provision in schools is spent in line with (a) local need and (b) national priorities.
Funding is provided to Local Authorities by means of a block grant to allow them to allocate the total financial resources available to them, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on additional support needs.
Scottish Government and COSLA work in partnership on additional support needs through the Additional Support for Learning Project Board. The new Education and Childcare Assurance Board provides a further opportunity for jointly agreeing priorities and joint working in this context.