Meeting of the Parliament 02 September 2025
What has helped in relation to the recruitment of teachers has been the pupil equity funding that we put into the budget and the increased levels of local government funding that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government put into the budget, which Pam Duncan-Glancy was unable to vote for when the budget came to Parliament. That did not help one tiny little bit.
The first fruits of our interventions can now be seen, with more Scots from the most deprived areas entering university full time and the poverty-related attainment gap continuing to narrow at all three key qualification levels. Across the board, more and more Scottish children are getting the chance to learn and to grow in skills and confidence, with attainment levels in literacy and numeracy at key stages of primary and secondary school reaching record highs.
There is also progress on the economy. Scotland is by far the fastest-growing start-up economy in the United Kingdom and one of the fastest-growing in Europe. New business incorporations here increased by almost a fifth in the first half of 2025, compared to the final six months of 2024. This remains the best place outside London at attracting overseas investment, with investment in the tech sector alone increasing by a massive 120 per cent between 2020 and 2024.
Wages are up in real terms, unemployment is down and our economy is growing. Much has been achieved, there is more to do and more will, no doubt, be done, because life is tough right now for the people we serve and we are acting to address those concerns.