Chamber and committees

Question reference: S6W-00064

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 17 May 2021
Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 June 2021

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-27605 by John Swinney on 10 March 2020, whether it will provide the same information for 2019-20.

Answer

Spending data on additional support for learning (ASL) is provided below. This data is collected from local authorities via the Local Financial Returns (LFR). In addition to 2019-20 expenditure data, figures for 2018-19 have also been provided due to revisions in LFR statistics since the response to
‎ S5W-27605. These revisions reflect an upward revision in ASL spending reported by North Lanarkshire, and a downwards revision in ASL spending reported by Stirling local authority.

Local authorities are asked to provide this data in line with guidance to ensure returns are completed on a consistent basis to allow for a reasonable degree of comparability. However, these figures may be affected by variations in local accounting practices and education strategies. It is important to bear this in mind when making comparisons between local authorities and years.

Local authorities are asked to record all centrally funded ASL expenditure under Special Education, irrespective of where it is delivered. Decisions about prioritisation and budgets, including those for the provision of services for pupils with additional support needs, are a matter for individual councils. We recognise the challenges facing authorities in balancing their need to meet a wide range of statutory duties, local priorities and local circumstances.

Tables 1 and 2 shows gross revenue expenditure on additional support for learning (ASL) education from 2019-20 and 2018-19 respectively, split by Pre-Primary, Primary, Secondary and Special Education.

Table 1 – 2019-20 ASL expenditure by Local Authority (£000)

	Pre-Primary Education	Primary Education	Secondary Education	Special Education	Total
Aberdeen City	0	6,819	5,962	11,066	23,847
Aberdeenshire	0	0	0	35,306	35,306
Angus	0	0	0	10,824	10,824
Argyll & Bute	598	3,539	4,034	2,690	10,861
City of Edinburgh	0	4	1	35,072	35,077
Clackmannanshire	0	0	0	8,434	8,434
Dumfries & Galloway	0	0	0	19,560	19,560
Dundee City	174	3,923	1,819	7,501	13,417
East Ayrshire	0	0	0	19,239	19,239
East Dunbartonshire	202	1,939	1,789	11,813	15,743
East Lothian	76	2,870	2,050	9,563	14,559
East Renfrewshire	582	1,497	1,255	7,965	11,299
Falkirk	0	0	0	23,386	23,386
Fife	0	0	0	36,817	36,817
Glasgow City	4,090	16,732	14,939	71,732	107,493
Highland	0	0	0	38,265	38,265
Inverclyde	206	0	0	10,799	11,005
Midlothian	36	3,197	2,234	11,303	16,770
Moray	0	0	0	14,009	14,009
Na h-Eileanan Siar	0	0	0	4,945	4,945
North Ayrshire	0	0	0	14,655	14,655
North Lanarkshire	515	12,651	5,591	31,607	50,364
Orkney Islands	0	1,470	1,306	1,229	4,005
Perth & Kinross	276	2,195	1,468	13,340	17,279
Renfrewshire	1,103	2,840	5,283	15,343	24,569
Scottish Borders	0	0	0	11,163	11,163
Shetland Islands	0	0	0	6,779	6,779
South Ayrshire	0	0	0	18,034	18,034
South Lanarkshire	437	7,993	8,291	18,066	34,787
Stirling	73	1,240	2,357	7,413	11,083
West Dunbartonshire	407	2,836	2,219	12,427	17,889
West Lothian	0	0	0	22,432	22,432
All Local Authorities	8,775	71,745	60,598	562,777	703,895

Source: Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government.

Table 2 – 2018-19 ASL expenditure by Local Authority (£000)

	Pre-Primary Education	Primary Education	Secondary Education	Special Education	Total
Aberdeen City	0	8,775	4,110	10,216	23,101
Aberdeenshire	0	0	0	33,970	33,970
Angus	0	0	0	9,065	9,065
Argyll & Bute	544	3,222	3,673	2,553	9,992
City of Edinburgh	0	5	4	36,869	36,878
Clackmannanshire	0	0	0	8,649	8,649
Dumfries & Galloway	0	0	0	18,617	18,617
Dundee City	211	3,633	1,701	6,700	12,245
East Ayrshire	0	0	0	14,827	14,827
East Dunbartonshire	123	1,798	1,573	10,703	14,197
East Lothian	0	2,786	1,990	8,930	13,706
East Renfrewshire	435	2,057	1,426	7,163	11,081
Falkirk	0	0	0	20,492	20,492
Fife	0	0	0	34,497	34,497
Glasgow City	3,183	15,489	13,731	65,445	97,848
Highland	0	0	0	40,941	40,941
Inverclyde	201	0	0	9,386	9,587
Midlothian	32	3,281	2,097	10,893	16,303
Moray	0	0	0	13,518	13,518
Na h-Eileanan Siar	0	0	0	4,772	4,772
North Ayrshire	0	0	0	14,177	14,177
North Lanarkshire	556	11,338	5,192	29,321	46,407
Orkney Islands	10	1,299	1,053	1,686	4,048
Perth & Kinross	257	1,961	1,194	12,602	16,014
Renfrewshire	1,119	3,638	3,246	14,889	22,892
Scottish Borders	0	0	0	10,979	10,979
Shetland Islands	0	0	0	6,096	6,096
South Ayrshire	0	0	0	15,687	15,687
South Lanarkshire	550	8,371	8,703	18,925	36,549
Stirling	73	1,184	1,945	7,673	10,875
West Dunbartonshire	397	2,717	1,470	11,592	16,176
West Lothian	0	0	0	20,587	20,587
All Local Authorities	7,691	71,554	53,108	532,420	664,773

Source: Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government.

All figures in tables 1 and 2 are based on gross expenditure on a funding basis. This means they have not been adjusted for inter / intra authority transfers.

Table 3 shows the percentage of total gross revenue expenditure on education by local authorities which was accounted for by spending on additional support for learning in 2019-20. From 2019-20 onwards education expenditure no longer includes contributions to integration joint boards, representing 0.04% of education expenditure in 2018-19.

Table 3 – Share of education expenditure accounted for by ASL

	2018-19	2019-20
Aberdeen City	13%	12%
Aberdeenshire	12%	11%
Angus	8%	9%
Argyll & Bute	9%	9%
City of Edinburgh	9%	8%
Clackmannanshire	15%	13%
Dumfries & Galloway	12%	12%
Dundee City	8%	9%
East Ayrshire	11%	13%
East Dunbartonshire	11%	11%
East Lothian	14%	13%
East Renfrewshire	9%	9%
Falkirk	12%	13%
Fife	10%	9%
Glasgow City	16%	16%
Highland	15%	14%
Inverclyde	11%	12%
Midlothian	16%	15%
Moray	15%	14%
Na h-Eileanan Siar	11%	10%
North Ayrshire	9%	9%
North Lanarkshire	12%	12%
Orkney Islands	12%	11%
Perth & Kinross	10%	10%
Renfrewshire	14%	13%
Scottish Borders	9%	9%
Shetland Islands	12%	12%
South Ayrshire	13%	14%
South Lanarkshire	11%	9%
Stirling	10%	10%
West Dunbartonshire	15%	15%
West Lothian	10%	11%
All Local Authorities	12%	12%

Source: Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 1) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government.

Table 4 shows the average per-pupil spending on additional support for learning by local authority. More precisely, this calculation shows gross revenue expenditure on additional support for learning in primary, secondary and special education from the local financial returns, divided by the number of pupils identified as having additional support needs recorded in the Pupil Census.

Table 4 – ASL spending per pupil (£, cash terms)

	2018-19	2019-20
Aberdeen City	3,240	2,883
Aberdeenshire	2,289	2,276
Angus	3,431	3,354
Argyll & Bute	3,893	4,561
City of Edinburgh	2,506	1,737
Clackmannanshire	4,610	4,211
Dumfries & Galloway	2,987	3,168
Dundee City	2,920	2,027
East Ayrshire	3,455	4,423
East Dunbartonshire	4,137	4,310
East Lothian	3,773	4,111
East Renfrewshire	2,806	2,740
Falkirk	3,561	3,803
Fife	2,907	2,898
Glasgow City	3,704	3,979
Highland	3,235	2,980
Inverclyde	3,497	3,801
Midlothian	4,741	4,389
Moray	3,421	3,340
Na h-Eileanan Siar	4,669	4,862
North Ayrshire	2,746	2,711
North Lanarkshire	5,503	5,602
Orkney Islands	5,054	4,768
Perth & Kinross	2,607	2,783
Renfrewshire	3,701	3,833
Scottish Borders	2,308	2,231
Shetland Islands	5,655	5,849
South Ayrshire	4,618	4,952
South Lanarkshire	3,085	2,787
Stirling	3,157	3,061
West Dunbartonshire	3,440	3,662
West Lothian	2,703	2,593
All Local Authorities	3,306	3,224

Sources:

1. Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government.

2. Pupil Census – 2019 school statistics collected by Scottish Government

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