Listen
Draft Budget - what it means for education and skills
17/09/2009
Protecting investment in people and providing skills and training to aid economic recovery is the key priority of the Education and Lifelong Learning (ELL) budget.
The main points from the ELL budget include:
- 2.2 per cent (£53.3 million) cash terms increase
- 0.7 per cent (£16.3 million) real terms increase
- Cash increase of over £35 million in resource funding for Universities - a 3.6 per cent cash increase and a 2.1 per cent real terms increase
- Cash increase of almost £45 million for colleges - 6.9 per cent cash increase and 5.3 per cent real terms increase
- Skills Development Scotland (SDS) training and skills budget protected
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Fiona Hyslop said that although tough choices have had to be made across the whole of Government in light of cuts imposed by the Chancellor - the planned ELL budget has been reduced by 1.95 per cent (£49.7 million) - the Scottish Government has been determined to ensure it continues to deliver where it matters most.
The biggest reduction in planned spend within the ELL portfolio is in teacher training. The decision to make this reduction is to adjust supply to meet demand as during the recession local authorities are not replacing retiring teachers at the levels previously expected. Action has therefore been taken to redress the balance in the system and to give more opportunity for new teachers to secure jobs.
Ms Hyslop said:
"In these difficult economic times this draft education budget protects spend where Scotland needs is most - on training and skills.
"It recognises the important role universities will play in helping to deliver our Purpose of sustainable economic growth. That's why we are providing a real terms increase for universities, investing in high quality learning and teaching provision for students right across Scotland and providing universities with the tools to undertake world class research.
"It shows we remain remain focused on giving every child in Scotland the best start in life through our early years strategy and early intervention approach and we will continue to deliver a first class education through curriculum for excellence while making progress towards reducing class sizes to 18 in the key early years of primary 1-3.
"It includes funding for a package we recently consulted on to further increase the support we are providing to students, details of which will be announced shortly.
"The Scottish Government budget also includes a £10 million increase in capital investment in the school estate.
"But right now it is more important than ever that we support people who may be at risk of becoming unemployed and make sure they have access to the right training and skills they need to get into work, stay in work and contribute to this country's economic recovery. We are determined to ensure that happens and that is why this budget reflects the central role our colleges play in helping people come through recession and prepare for the upturn.
"Supply and demand for training in different sectors varies and we need to make sure we get the balance right. That is why we have taken the decision to spend less than originally planned on teacher training.
"The current climate means local authorities are not replacing retiring teachers at the levels previously expected. We need to temper supply to redress this imbalance - to do nothing would be irresponsible. Teaching jobs do become available month after month as people retire, but currently it is at a slower pace than pre-recession and this measure will help new teachers looking for jobs."
Reason for slight decrease in SDS funding in ELL Budget Chapter is due to planned restructuring and efficiency savings -training and skills programmes have been protected.
When making a year on year comparison of funding for Higher Education Institutions, the footnote at the bottom of page 85 in ELL budget chapter - which focuses on Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council - explains the figure needed to take into account to get an accurate basis for comparison and why.
The teacher training reduction is a temporary slow down to allow new teachers to find employment - decreasing supply in line with a decrease in demand from local authorities because of recession. We will be working closely with teacher education universities and authorities to preserve capacity so we can ensure they will still be able to train the teachers we need in future years.