Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 27 April 2017
27 Apr 2017 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
General Question Time
Attainment Gap (Scottish Borders)
The Scottish Government, through the Scottish attainment challenge, is providing increased support for local authorities, including Scottish Borders Council, in their work to close the poverty-related attainment gap. The Scottish Borders have received over £315,000 from the attainment Scotland fund over the course of the past two years and will receive £1.8 million of pupil equity funding in 2017-18. Headteachers will have the flexibility to target resources at interventions that they know will help close the attainment gap and they are currently preparing their plans for use of that funding.
In the same item of business
6. John Lamont (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Con
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in closing the attainment gap in the Scottish Borders. (S5O-00914)
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney)
SNP
The Scottish Government, through the Scottish attainment challenge, is providing increased support for local authorities, including Scottish Borders Council,...
John Lamont
Con
I thank the cabinet secretary for that reply, but the attainment gap in the Borders remains one of the worst in Scotland. Indeed, the Scottish National Party...
John Swinney
SNP
Well, we know the cheerful, optimistic tone that John Lamont will be taking to the doors of the Borders over the course of the next few weeks. I was going to...