Exclusive:'Decimated': Call for Scots colleges to receive extra 'emergency' £50 million in Scottish budget
The Scottish Tories say colleges should be granted an extra £50 million in the budget to bring them back from a financial cliff edge
Scotland’s colleges must receive an additional £50 million “emergency fund” in Tuesday’s budget, an opposition MSP has said.
Recent expert reports have found the sector to have suffered a 20 per cent real terms funding cut with forecasts that 11 colleges could run out of cash in the next academic year.
Scottish Tory MSP Miles Briggs said further education had been “decimated” under the SNP government and called for a robust outcome in Shona Robison’s budget.
Mr Briggs, his party’s shadow cabinet secretary for education, said: “Scotland’s colleges have been decimated by the SNP over the last two decades and are in complete crisis.
“That is why we are urging Shona Robison to back our calls for an emergency fund worth £50 million to the sector in her Budget on Tuesday.”
He said this fighting fund should be in addition to any increased settlement offered by the SNP on Tuesday.
His call follows that of Gavin Donoghue, CEO of Colleges Scotland, who told The Scotsman last week that Mr Robison should heed warnings about the parlous financial state of colleges.
Mr Donoghue said a flat cash settlement should be avoided and instead appealed for a long term funding solution of between £120 million and £150m additional investment.
Mr Briggs added: “Our colleges are crucial to ensure our future workforce have the skillset to be attractive to businesses and in turn boost economic growth.
“The SNP must use this budget to support Scotland’s colleges rather than chronically underfunding them, otherwise many of them will shut their doors.”
He said the £50m fund “should be on top of them doing the right thing and giving them an increased settlement to start the reversal of their 20 per cent cut to the college budget in recent years”.
In response to Mr Briggs’s remarks, Further Education Minister Ben Macpherson repeated word-for-word a previous comment given to The Scotsman in relation to a separate story.
He said again that the Scottish Government “deeply values” the contribution made by colleges to both communities and the wider economy.
He went on to point out for a second time that the Scottish Funding Council allocations provided a 2.6 per cent college sector increase in teaching funding for 2025/26 and an increase of almost 5 per cent in capital maintenance.
In November, he added, the government confirmed support for the college support staff pay deal that was reached between trade unions and the sector by providing an extra £1.69m this financial year, followed by an additional £3.3m next financial year.
Mr Macpherson’s comment added: “Ministerial colleagues and I are determined to work closely and collaboratively with colleges to ensure the sector’s success and sustainability, as it navigates numerous challenges.
“We will continue to work with Colleges Scotland on the budget and changes needed for a sustainable future.
“Decisions on the Scottish Budget will be laid out on January 13.”
In an exclusive interview last week, Mr Donoghue said colleges have been treated like a “Cinderella sector” by politicians who have ample experience of school and university but who are less familiar with further education.
Recent Audit Scotland and Scottish Funding Council reports on the state of the college sector, and its future, painted a bleak picture of straitened finances, reduced staff headcount and a reduction in course options.
Colleges Scotland said that, should the finance secretary opt for a flat cash settlement in her budget, 11 institutions could run out of cash in the coming academic year.
Behind the scenes, it was claimed, the mood music would suggest the college sector is receiving a sympathetic hearing but the “proof will be in the pudding only in the budget announcement.”
Colleges Scotland, he said, would still be comfortable engaging with Reform if it has a “positive offering” for colleges in its manifesto.
“Colleges Scotland will engage with all the political parties in the Scottish Parliament,” he said.
“We would welcome all political parties having a positive message about colleges going into the 2026 elections.”
On Mr Farage’s comments specifically, he said: “Colleges are fundamentally community anchors in their own regions, and one of the anchor roles that they play is providing ESOL classes to people who don't have strong English.
“That benefits a wider economy and society more broadly, because if you want people to be contributing to society, you need them to be integrated into society.
“And that is a fundamental role of colleges - lifting people out of poverty and ensuring they have access to high quality education and skills training.
“They are a fundamental part of the communities they serve and should be funded accordingly.”
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