Scots schools suffer £400m cut in funding in eight years

MORE than £400million has been cut from funding for schools since 2010, figures show.

Nicola Sturgeon promised to make education her top priority when she became First Minister.

But the SNP was yesterday accused of using ‘sloganeering’ in an effort to hide its failings in education as councils have savagely slashed school spending.

Since 2010, it has reduced school funding by more than £400million. Council chiefs claim they have no option because of SNP budget cuts.

But ministers insisted finance for councils meant they did not need to cut school funds.

Independent research by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) shows that local authority spending on education fell from £5.3billion in 2009-10 to £4.9billion in 2017-18.

Iain Gray, Scottish Labour education spokesman, said: ‘Education is what empowers us all to realise our full potential. When it fails, it isn’t just the individual that is held back, but all of us.

‘Protecting education spending should have been a priority for the SNP when the Tories came to power – instead there has been more than £400million worth of cuts since 2010.’

He added: ‘No wonder we are seeing soaring class sizes, overworked teachers and a stubborn attainment gap between the richest and poorest pupils.

‘No amount of sloganeering from the Nationalists can hide the fact that they have not stood up for Scotland’s schools.

‘Labour would take a different path, making the richest pay their fair share so we can invest in our schools and deliver a better deal for teachers, parents and pupils.’

The analysis by SPICe also shows that between 2009-10 and 2017-18 primary spending increased from £1.91billion to £1.96billion. But secondary funding fell from £2.25billion to £1.90billion.

The figures for 2017-18 include the Government’s Pupil Equity Funding, which is not supposed to be used to replace existing provision.

A spokesman for council umbrella group Cosla said: ‘A series of recent independent reports from a range of organisations are clear in their analysis that local government has taken a real hit in terms of funding over the last couple of years.

‘There is no doubt that this has had an impact on the essential services councils deliver.

‘We are faced with a situation where demand for our essential services outstrips our ability to pay for them all.’

The figures were published a day after it emerged that college funds are 10 per cent lower this year compared to a decade ago.

They will receive £664.9million in 2018-19, down from £739.6million spent on further education in 2007-08, a drop of £74.7million.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We are committing £750million during the course of this parliament to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap, including another £120million Pupil Equity Funding direct to schools this year.

‘Local authorities are directly responsible for setting school budgets and the latest figures show that local authority spend on education increased from £4.95billion in 2015-16 to £5.07billion in 2016-17 – a real terms increase of 0.3 per cent.’

‘Stubborn gap in attainment’