Chamber and committees

The 2026-27 Budget continues to provide local authorities with an additional £186.5 million to protect teacher numbers. We will work in partnership with local government to agree delivery of the commitment to maintain pupil-teacher ratios.

There are now 2,700 more teachers in Scotland's classrooms than a decade ago, as a result of sustained investment by the Scottish Government. Scotland also continues to have the lowest pupil-teacher ratio in the UK.

The Scottish Government has committed to expanding childcare support to children from nine months through to the end of primary school over the course of this Parliament. As this work progresses, we will set out a detailed programme to enable Parliament and the public to monitor progress.

Funding for the Apprenticeship Accelerator Grant will be considered as part of preparation for the Scottish Budget 2027-28. Funding for subsequent years will be a matter for future budgets.

The Scottish Government is taking forward the commitment for a national skills plan aligned to economic need. We are working with partners in developing the plan and will update parliament in the autumn.

We have committed to convene stakeholders within the first 100 days to agree a timeline and route-map for the development of a new national staged intervention approach to additional support needs in education.

The route-map will set out indicative timeframes for the implementation of a Scottish national staged intervention model, which will support improved identification, planning, and provision for children and young people with additional support needs.

The McManus review of additional support for learning published in March, set out six high level and far reaching recommendations to address the evolving ASN systems challenge. The first step in implementing the recommendations will be the publication of a timeline and route map in relation to the national staged intervention model (recommendation 1 of the McManus report) and the associated 100 days commitment. Beyond that it is envisaged that the McManus report will be delivered in stages across the Parliamentary term.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00962 on 24 June 2026. 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.

The Scottish Government is committed to eradicating child poverty and our Free School Meal programme is saving families who take up this offer every day approximately £450 per child, per year. As a result of our expansion programme, around 84% of primary school children are now eligible for a free school meal.

We have committed to an ambitious expansion of our Free School Meal programme and plan to deliver universal free school meals in primary schools in the lifetime of this Parliament. We will continue to work with our partners in COSLA and local authorities to deliver this.

As I set out in my statement to Parliament on 2 June, we will launch a consultation on a legislative approach within the first 100 days of this government.

Further development of the legislative approach will be informed by the outcomes of this consultation but Ministers intention is that benefits of phone free learning will be enjoyed by learners and teachers as soon as possible.

As part of the 2026-27 Scottish Budget, the Scottish Government announced it will provide £3 million to continue to fund an additional 9,000 Bright Start Breakfasts club places in 2026-27.

The Scottish Government will also provide recurring investment of £44 million from financial year 2027-28 to provide a national breakfast offer starting in August 2027, which comprises a nutritious breakfast and up to one hour of supervision, delivered flexibly to meet the needs of children and young people, including those with additional support needs.

To support this expansion, we will provide initial investment of £15 million in 2026-27 to help Local Government and third sector partners prepare for the introduction of the universal breakfast club offer.