WIREDGOV

Legislation to simplify the funding system for post-16 education and skills has been backed by MSPs.  The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) will become responsible for funding national training programmes and apprenticeships, alongside colleges and universities.  The aim is to simplify the system, to make it more coherent and transparent, so that it works better for employers and Scotland’s economy.

The Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill will see the establishment of a new apprenticeship committee, enable Ministers to set funding priorities in a new national strategy and will ensure that the voices of workers, employers, businesses and students are at the heart of the funding process.  The Bill also makes new provision to promote widening access to higher education and to tackle gender-based violence at colleges and universities. The Bill was passed by 75 votes to 46 by MSPs in Parliament tonight.

Alongside the legislation, there will be greater transparency on college and university principals’ pay, and colleges and universities will be expected to adopt more fair work principles. There will be a review of contribution rates for apprenticeships, and the Bill requires a review of the credit-based funding system for colleges.

Higher and Further Education Minister Ben Macpherson said:

“The landscape this government has developed for post-school education and skills has served us well.  We can point to significant successes in what it has delivered, especially for our young people. We must always continue to improve though, and this new law is an important part of that ongoing process and how, together, we meet the challenges ahead. 

"By moving all the funding for apprenticeships to sit alongside colleges and universities in the SFC, we can streamline structures and decision-making making our system more coherent, and flexible, to adapt to current and future skills needs. 

"I want our system to work even better for everyone who – at any age – wants to learn new skills, gain new qualifications, or train for a new role.

"By doing so, we will enable more people to fulfil their potential, provide more security for their households, and contribute more to Scotland’s economy.”

Background

The Bill delivers on the Programme for Government 2025 to 2026commitment to deliver “a simplified post-school funding body landscape that is sustainable and efficient consolidating apprenticeship funding within the Scottish Funding Council by March 2027”.  The consolidation of student support funding within the Student Awards Agency Scotland is being taken forward administratively, as it does not require legislation.

The Minister wrote to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on Friday 16 January to set out actions being taken forward outside of the Bill and setting out a comprehensive update on the costs of the Bill.

Plans to change the funding system which covers universities, colleges and apprenticeships, as well as student support, were announced last year. The changes followed a public consultation which took place in summer 2024 and for which a report summarising responses was published in January 2025, along with an outline business case.

Supporting fair work practices - gov.scot