- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on additional support needs provision as part of the Pupil Equity Fund in each year since its introduction.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally. Headteachers know their learners best and they decide how to invest their Pupil Equity Funding, based on their local context. Pupil Equity Funding must enable schools to deliver activities, approaches or resources which are clearly additional to universal local improvement plans.
Scottish Attainment Challenge funding, which includes annual Pupil Equity Funding of £130 million to 97% of schools, supports up to 3,000 additional staff, including up to 700 FTE teachers.
Spending on additional support for learning by local authorities reached a record high of over £1 billion in 2023-24 – the latest figure available – an increase from £540m in 2012-13. The 2025/26 budget sets out that a further £29m of additional investment will enhance support for children with additional support needs in our schools. This will include an allocation for local and national programmes to support the recruitment and retention of the Additional Support Needs workforce and enable us to build on the work being delivered through our Additional Support for Learning Action Plan. Details of the national programme of work will be set out in due course.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have been recorded as moving into activity agreements as a positive destination in each year for which data is available, also broken down by local authority.
Answer
The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each initial destination (three months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.1a in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition. The supplementary tables with data on initial destinations are available here: .
The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each follow-up destination (nine months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.2 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary statistics for Follow-Up Leaver Destinations, No. 6: 2024 Edition. The supplementary tables with data on follow-up destinations are available here: .
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on police support on school campuses as part of the Pupil Equity Fund in each year since its introduction.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-35761 on 1 April 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have been recorded as moving into higher education as a positive destination in each year for which data is available, also broken down by local authority.
Answer
The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each initial destination (three months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.1a in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition. The supplementary tables with data on initial destinations are available here: .
The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each follow-up destination (nine months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.2 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary statistics for Follow-Up Leaver Destinations, No. 6: 2024 Edition. The supplementary tables with data on follow-up destinations are available here: .
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have been recorded as moving into further education as a positive destination in each year for which data is available, also broken down by local authority.
Answer
The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each initial destination (three months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.1a in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition. The supplementary tables with data on initial destinations are available here: .
The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each follow-up destination (nine months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.2 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary statistics for Follow-Up Leaver Destinations, No. 6: 2024 Edition. The supplementary tables with data on follow-up destinations are available here: .
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many rural school closures have taken place in each year since 1999, also broken down by local authority.
Answer
In 2003 there were 1,025 publicly funded schools in Scotland classed as being in either an 'Accessible Rural Area' or 'Remote Rural Area'. In 2023 there were 853 publicly funded schools in Scotland with this classification.
Local Authority | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Aberdeen City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Aberdeenshire | 128 | 127 | 125 | 125 | 123 | 122 | 121 | 121 | 121 | 121 | 120 | 120 | 119 | 120 | 119 | 116 | 115 | 117 | 114 | 113 | 113 |
Angus | 37 | 36 | 35 | 36 | 33 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
Argyll & Bute | 80 | 79 | 79 | 79 | 78 | 80 | 81 | 81 | 80 | 81 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 69 | 68 | 68 |
Clackmannanshire | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 84 | 83 | 81 | 81 | 80 | 79 | 78 | 76 | 75 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 72 | 72 | 73 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 69 |
Dundee City | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
East Ayrshire | 21 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
East Dunbartonshire | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
East Lothian | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 |
East Renfrewshire | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Edinburgh | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Falkirk | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Fife | 57 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 46 | 47 | 47 | 51 | 49 | 46 | 46 | 46 | 44 | 42 | 42 | 45 | 44 | 43 |
Glasgow City | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Highland | 159 | 158 | 164 | 159 | 159 | 158 | 157 | 157 | 156 | 150 | 149 | 150 | 151 | 148 | 146 | 144 | 144 | 144 | 144 | 139 | 138 |
Inverclyde | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Midlothian | 16 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
Moray | 31 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | 45 | 45 | 47 | 44 | 47 | 44 | 43 | 41 | 37 | 30 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
North Ayrshire | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 |
North Lanarkshire | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
Orkney Islands | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 |
Perth & Kinross | 57 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 54 | 55 | 54 | 53 | 53 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 51 | 49 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Renfrewshire | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Scottish Borders | 51 | 48 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 44 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 39 | 39 |
Shetland Islands | 39 | 39 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 34 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 32 |
South Ayrshire | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
South Lanarkshire | 38 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 36 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 36 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 30 |
Stirling | 30 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 |
West Dunbartonshire | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
West Lothian | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 13 |
All local authorities | 1025 | 1014 | 1008 | 1005 | 989 | 958 | 954 | 945 | 934 | 916 | 910 | 907 | 894 | 882 | 874 | 868 | 859 | 861 | 861 | 852 | 853 |
Data is only available from 2003 onwards and is based on schools which were classed as either 'Accessible Rural Areas' or 'Remote Rural Areas' according to the Urban Rural Classification at the time. Note that an area's Urban Rural Classification may change over time, therefore a decrease in the number of schools classed as rural over the years could be due to this area being reclassified, rather than being due to school closures. The table shows how many rural schools were open in each local authority in each year since 2003.
More detailed information about school openings, closures, mergers and instances where a school has been mothballed can be found on the school contact details spreadsheet in the 'Schools opened or closed' tab: , but recording of this data is only available from 2007 onwards.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many in-school counsellors have been employed in each year since 1999 in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, also broken down by local authority.
Answer
The mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland is of paramount importance. Since 2021 we have provided our local authority partners with £16 million a year in funding to ensure that all school pupils aged 10 and above and all secondary schools in Scotland have access to school counselling services.
It is for local authorities to determine how they deliver the counselling service in their area. Our local authority partners have confirmed that access to counselling support services are in place across Scotland. Information on the number of counsellors employed is available in summary reports, for the time periods January to June 2021, July to December 2021, January to June 2022, July to December 2022 and January to June 2023. This information can be found on the Scottish Government website at:
Information prior to 2021 is not held. From April 2024 counselling reports moved from six-monthly to annual reporting and information for the July 2023 to March 2024 period is currently being analysed.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have been recorded as moving into personal skills development, including employability, in each year for which data is available, also broken down by local authority.
Answer
The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each initial destination (three months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.1a in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition. The supplementary tables with data on initial destinations are available here: .
The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each follow-up destination (nine months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.2 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary statistics for Follow-Up Leaver Destinations, No. 6: 2024 Edition. The supplementary tables with data on follow-up destinations are available here: .
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have been recorded as moving into voluntary work as a positive destination in each year for which data is available, also broken down by local authority.
Answer
The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each initial destination (three months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.1a in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition. The supplementary tables with data on initial destinations are available here: .
The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each follow-up destination (nine months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.2 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary statistics for Follow-Up Leaver Destinations, No. 6: 2024 Edition. The supplementary tables with data on follow-up destinations are available here: .
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers have received training in brief mental health interventions in each year since 1999 in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, also broken down by local authority.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities may hold this information.
