Council benefits from £4.7 billion investment

South Lanarkshire Council benefitted from a nationwide increase of 2.7% in education spending last year – thanks to Scottish Government efforts to close the attainment gap and provide local authorities with a fair funding deal.

Net spending on education by local authorities across Scotland rose to £4.7 billion last year – the biggest spending area of the total £10.1 billion service expenditure in 2015-16, proving once again the SNP’s commitment to improving Scotland’s education system.

Last week’s budget saw local authorities benefit from £160 million of additional funding to help with service provision at a local level, as well as seeing £7 million given to schools in the South Lanarkshire area earlier this month as part of the national attainment fund.

Commenting, SNP MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Christina McKelvie said:

“These latest local authority stats prove once again that the SNP Government is providing a strong funding deal for South Lanarkshire – and is doing all it can to help close the attainment gap and improve the Scottish education system.

“Last week’s budget saw additional funding for South Lanarkshire council to help with service provision at a local level – building on the excellent funding package for local services revealed in these figures.

“The Scottish Government has consistently said that education is its number one priority, and it is heartening to see that action is being taken to support schools – through a 2.7% increase in funding last year and with the effective action taken in the budget this year.

“The £7 million + provided to schools across South Lanarkshire through the Scottish Attainment Fund further proves the Scottish Government’s commitment to improving our education system – and action will continue to be taken by the SNP to make sure that every child, no matter their background, gets an equal chance in life.”