Chamber and committees

We are developing a new digital strategy to support our ongoing commitment to improve digital access for learners. This strategy will define the key elements for successful digital learning and seek to deliver the right technology, in the right place, with a workforce that knows how to use it.

Officials will engage with key partners across the education sector in development and implementation of the strategy, which we will publish in 2024.

Budget discussions are still ongoing. We are working hard to confirm the final position for FWDF in 2023-24 as quickly as possible. An announcement will be made once a final decision has been reached. Meetings with the Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland are held regularly to discuss updates and any issues relating to the Fund.

The Just Transition Fund did not open for bids in 2023-24. Alongside announcing a £25 million allocation to the Scottish National Investment Bank, our focus has been on continuing to deliver the £50 million multi-year programme of projects announced in 2022-23, including our £11 million package of skills interventions and £30 million investment on innovation projects.

Businesses, social sector organisations and communities have still been able to bid in for grant funding this year through the Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund, Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund, and Participatory Budgeting Fund respectively.

In Year 1, the Just Transition Fund’s £20 million allocation was made up of £10 million capital grants and £10 million Financial Transactions.

Of the £20 million available to be distributed in 2022-23, the full £10 million capital grant allocation was spent. £0.5 million Financial Transactions were allocated to Social Investment Scotland’s Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund and £9.5 million Financial Transactions were unallocated.

In 2023-24 the Fund’s entire Financial Transaction allocation of £25 million has been allocated to the Scottish National Investment Bank. Businesses, projects, and their representatives can contact the Bank via its website, where the Bank’s new enquiries team will handle the approach. Up to an additional £25 million grant funding will be spent as part of the ongoing delivery of the £50 million grant funding committed to in 2022-23.

I have asked the Chief Executive of Education Scotland to write to the member directly on this matter.

The Student Finance and Wellbeing Study (academic year 2023-24) will gather data from college and university students in Scotland on their level of study, the number of hours they have worked in the last week, the sector that their job(s) is/are in, and whether the paid work they are doing is supporting the development of skills related to their course. It will not collect information on where the paid work is carried out (on location/ employer). The extent to which the Study will be able to report on the experiences of work of postgraduate students will depend on sample sizes being large enough to report on.

The findings from the Student Finance and Wellbeing Study are due to be published in a Scottish Government Social Research report in late summer 2024.

The £46 million funding was intended to support strategic change in the college and university sectors and was not part of the core teaching funding allocations. Despite a very challenging financial climate, the Scottish Government committed nearly £2 billion to Scotland’s universities and colleges in 2023-24. Part of the reason for withdrawing the £46 million funding was to allow the Scottish Government to fund public sector pay deals. Strategic change remains necessary and we will be taking this forward with the Scottish Funding Council, colleges and universities in the context of reform, building on the purpose and principles for post-school education published in June 2023. This can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/post-school-education-research-skills-purpose-principles/

It is for local authorities to hold information on the type or condition of those devices that have been distributed across primary and secondary settings within individual local authorities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21921 on‎ 27 October 2023. 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