Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-34551

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26184 by Jenny Gilruth on 26 March 2024, whether it will provide the same information for 2023-24.

Spending data on Additional Support for Learning (ASL) is collected from local authorities via the 2023-24 Local Financial Returns (LFR). These figures show that spending on ASL by local authorities reached its highest level on record, over £1 billion in 2023-24.

Local authorities are asked to record all centrally funded ASL expenditure under Special Education, irrespective of where it is delivered. Decisions about prioritisation and budgets, including those for the provision of services for pupils with additional support needs, are a matter for individual councils. It is important to note when making comparisons between local authorities and years that there may be variations in local accounting practices.

Table 1 shows gross revenue expenditure on (ASL) education for 2023-24, split by Pre-Primary, Primary, Secondary and Special Education.

Table 1 – 2023-24 ASL expenditure by Local Authority (£000)

Local Authority	Pre-Primary Education	Primary Education	Secondary Education	Special Education	Total
Aberdeen City	1,116	6,328	7,123	21,288	35,855
Aberdeenshire	0	0	0	57,564	57,564
Angus	0	0	0	17,385	17,385
Argyll and Bute	811	4,802	5,475	3,818	14,906
City of Edinburgh	3,730	23,638	13,551	52,391	93,310
Clackmannanshire	0	0	0	15,681	15,681
Dumfries and Galloway	0	0	0	25,178	25,178
Dundee City	252	7,010	3,270	10,938	21,470
East Ayrshire	0	0	0	23,829	23,829
East Dunbartonshire	465	2,651	1,407	17,086	21,609
East Lothian	0	3,381	2,304	13,383	19,068
East Renfrewshire	1,073	2,010	1,679	11,746	16,508
Falkirk	0	0	0	30,270	30,270
Fife	0	0	0	46,472	46,472
Glasgow City	6,913	17,502	24,100	92,732	141,247
Highland	0	0	0	50,239	50,239
Inverclyde	0	0	0	15,952	15,952
Midlothian	56	3,934	3,154	18,609	25,753
Moray	0	0	0	21,690	21,690
Na h-Eileanan Siar	0	0	0	6,185	6,185
North Ayrshire	0	0	0	17,348	17,348
North Lanarkshire	113	13,348	5,269	52,120	70,850
Orkney Islands	153	960	1,248	3,892	6,253
Perth and Kinross	379	6,257	5,137	11,420	23,193
Renfrewshire	2,257	5,992	3,193	18,122	29,564
Scottish Borders	0	0	0	13,912	13,912
Shetland Islands	0	0	0	9,325	9,325
South Ayrshire	7	2,398	1,900	17,852	22,157
South Lanarkshire	0	11,281	10,227	33,307	54,815
Stirling	0	1,718	2,940	11,297	15,955
West Dunbartonshire	411	4,444	2,732	13,303	20,890
West Lothian	0	0	0	29,679	29,679
All local authorities	17,736	117,654	94,709	784,013	1,014,112

Source: Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government:Local government finance statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Table 2 shows the percentage of total gross revenue expenditure on education which was accounted for by spending on additional support for learning in 2023-24.

Table 2 – 2023-24 share of education expenditure accounted for by ASL

Local Authority	ASL Spend as a share of Education Spend
Aberdeen City	13%
Aberdeenshire	14%
Angus	11%
Argyll & Bute	10%
City of Edinburgh	16%
Clackmannanshire	18%
Dumfries & Galloway	12%
Dundee City	10%
East Ayrshire	13%
East Dunbartonshire	11%
East Lothian	13%
East Renfrewshire	9%
Falkirk	13%
Fife	9%
Glasgow City	17%
Highland	14%
Inverclyde	13%
Midlothian	16%
Moray	16%
Na h-Eileanan Siar	10%
North Ayrshire	8%
North Lanarkshire	13%
Orkney Islands	13%
Perth & Kinross	11%
Renfrewshire	11%
Scottish Borders	8%
Shetland Islands	15%
South Ayrshire	14%
South Lanarkshire	11%
Stirling	10%
West Dunbartonshire	14%
West Lothian	10%
All local authorities	13%

Source: Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government: Local government finance statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

All figures in tables 1 and 2 are based on gross expenditure on a funding basis. This means they have not been adjusted for inter/intra authority transfers.

Table 3 provides total spend per primary and secondary school pupil at the national level. Rather than focusing on ASL spending alone, this calculation shows total gross revenue expenditure in primary and secondary education from the local financial returns, divided by the number of pupils attending primary and secondary schools recorded in the Pupil Census.

Table 3 – Average spending per pupil (£)

Year	Primary Education	Secondary Education
2023-24	7,487	9,276

Primary and secondary education figures are adjusted to exclude inter-authority transfers. However, this breakdown is not available for ASL spending, therefore ASL figures in Tables 4 and 5 are based on gross expenditure on a funding basis. Note that because figures in Table 3 are based on 2023-24 prices, they are not comparable to the figures based on 2022-23 prices provided in PQ S6W-26184 on 26 March 2024.

Sources:

Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government: Local government finance statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Pupil Census - published annually - for further details go to: Pupil census: supplementary statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
GDP deflators at market prices: GDP deflators at market prices, and money GDP - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Table 4 shows average spending on ASL per ASL pupil by local authority in 2023-24. More precisely, this calculation shows gross revenue expenditure on ASL in primary, secondary and special education from the local financial returns, divided by the number of pupils identified as having additional support needs recorded in the Pupil Census.

Table 4 – 2023-24 ASL spending per pupil (£)

Local Authority	ASL Spend per ASL Pupil
Aberdeen City	3,322
Aberdeenshire	3,185
Angus	3,627
Argyll and Bute	4,002
City of Edinburgh	3,617
Clackmannanshire	6,785
Dumfries and Galloway	3,506
Dundee City	3,034
East Ayrshire	4,833
East Dunbartonshire	4,677
East Lothian	3,484
East Renfrewshire	3,396
Falkirk	4,110
Fife	2,687
Glasgow City	4,453
Highland	3,816
Inverclyde	4,415
Midlothian	4,690
Moray	4,288
Na h-Eileanan Siar	5,459
North Ayrshire	2,624
North Lanarkshire	7,470
Orkney Islands	5,286
Perth and Kinross	3,635
Renfrewshire	3,463
Scottish Borders	2,624
Shetland Islands	7,146
South Ayrshire	4,280
South Lanarkshire	3,855
Stirling	3,531
West Dunbartonshire	3,778
West Lothian	2,800
All local authorities	3,850

Sources:

Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government: Local government finance statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Pupil Census – published annually - for further details go to: Pupil census: supplementary statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Table 5 provides average spending on ASL per ASL pupil at the national level in 2023-24. The following figure does not represent all spending benefitting ASL pupils, who also benefit from spending incurred in delivering the wider school system.

Table 5 – Average ASL spend per ASL pupil (£)

Year	ASL Pupils at Primary, Secondary and Special Schools
2023-24	3,850

ASL spending figures are based on gross expenditure on a funding basis. Note that because figures in Table 5 are based on 2023-24 prices, they are not comparable to the figures based on 2022-23 prices provided in PQ S6W-26184 on 26 March 2024.

Sources:

Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government: Local government finance statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Pupil Census - published annually - for further details go to: Pupil census: supplementary statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
GDP deflators at market prices: GDP deflators at market prices, and money GDP - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Spending data on additional support for learning (ASL) is provided below. This data is collected from local authorities via the 2022-23 Local Financial Returns (LFR). These figures show that spending on ASL by local authorities reached its highest level on record, £926m in 2022-23.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-34785

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have stopped receiving the enhanced mobility award of adult disability payment in 2024-25, broken down by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile; how many (a) are and (b) are not in employment, and how many had been in receipt of the payment for (i) one to two, (ii) more than two to three and (iii) more than three years.

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes statistics on Adult Disability Payment caseload, broken down by mobility award level. However, it does not currently publish statistics on clients leaving the Adult Disability Payment caseload. It also does not currently publish statistics on Adult Disability Payment by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). It also does not hold information on the employment status of clients as it is not necessary to collect information on a client’s employment to assess their application.

Adult Disability Payment provides financial support for adults with a disability or long-term health conditions and is available to applicants regardless of their employment status which is the same as Department for Work and Pensions’ Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Social Security Scotland does not hold this information for clients who have been in receipt of Adult Disability Payment for one to two, and two to three years. Adult Disability Payment was introduced in March 2022; hence no clients have been in receipt of Adult Disability Payment for more than three years.

The latest Adult Disability Payment official statistics publication can be found at:

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/statistics. The next release of Adult Disability Payment statistics which will cover the period to the end of January 2025, is due to be published on 18 March 2025.

Question reference: S6W-34546

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is collaborating with communities to enhance the whisky tourism experience.

Question reference: S6W-34549

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support the development of whisky trails that connect multiple distilleries and regions.

Question reference: S6W-34587

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will begin its review into alternative and additional funding mechanisms to grow funding for culture.

On 13 January 2025, the Scottish Government launched a survey for people working in or with an interest in culture. This asked about their experience of currently available support and what they would like to see provided in the future to better meet the needs of the sector.

Responses to the survey are currently being analysed and will help to inform the scope of the Scottish Government’s review of how the culture sector is supported, including exploration alternative and additional funding mechanisms to grow the overall funding pot for culture in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-34547

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives are in place to promote whisky tourism.

Question reference: S6W-35228

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much public funding has been given to fossil fuel companies in each year since 2021 for the development of carbon capture and storage technology.

The Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies have provided £1,354,000 for the development of carbon capture and storage technology in 2025.

The Scottish Government has committed £2m of grant funding support to the National Gas Transmission SCO2T Connect Project and to date, £1,345,000 of this funding has been provided.

The Scottish Government remains wholly committed to supporting the development and deployment of CCUS, including the Acorn Project and the Scottish Cluster. Unfortunately, the UK Government continue to delay making a final decision on the Acorn Project which is risking billions of private sector investment and thousands of jobs.

Question reference: S6O-04429

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the experience of support staff in schools.

Question reference: S6O-04426

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it will reportedly not meet the target to reduce Scotland’s food waste by 33% by 2025.

Question reference: S6O-04428

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it controls budgets relating to public inquiries.

Seòmar agus comataidhean