Meeting of the Parliament 24 February 2016
I must make more progress.
We know that there is much more that we need to do. We want to create a world-class education system that delivers success for all our children. Our overall aim is to raise standards everywhere but to raise them most in the areas that need it most.
As the First Minister has indicated on several occasions, action on education is an absolute priority for the Government. We have previously announced the four-year £100 million attainment Scotland fund to support schools in our poorest neighbourhoods to raise attainment. The fund is about to enter its second year of operation, and over the next three years we still have £80 million of the fund to spend. I have looked at that carefully, considered the resources that I have available, including my latest assessment of forecast receipts from the devolved taxes, and decided that we are in a position to do more than I had planned. I confirm to Parliament that I intend to double the amount of funding that we had planned to allocate to the attainment Scotland fund over the next three years from £80 million to £160 million. Ministerial colleagues will announce further details in due course, but I hope that all members in the chamber will welcome that substantial additional investment in measures to help ensure that every child has the opportunity to realise their potential.