Exclusive:SNP accused of favouring city colleges in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen over towns and villages
The MPs said it was ‘unfair’ that colleges in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen had received above average Scottish Funding Council allocation increases
Scottish Labour MPs have accused the SNP Government of favouring city colleges over those in towns.
The MPs said it was “unfair” that colleges in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen had received above average Scottish Funding Council allocation increases when smaller places had not.
One MP accused the SNP of “blatantly prioritising colleges in big cities while areas dominated by towns and villages are left out”.
The overall teaching grant for colleges across Scotland increased by 2.6 per cent between 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Glasgow Clyde College, Edinburgh College, Glasgow Kelvin College and North East Scotland College received the highest percentage increases - all of which were over 3 per cent.
But Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Skye, Ayrshire College, Fife College and Dumfries and Galloway College all had rises of less than 1.5 per cent. Borders, Forth Valley Highlands and Islands, New College Lanarkshire and Newbattle Abbey College in Midlothian also had below average increases.
Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy MP Melanie Ward said: "Colleges like Fife College can deliver the next generation of jobs and set our people up for the future, but they are being consistently deprioritised in favour of those in the big cities.
"Over the last three years, Fife College has had its budget cut by nearly 20 per cent in real terms, and it received a below inflation increase this year. While Fife, Ayrshire, Skye and Dumfries and Galloway have taken the heaviest budget cuts to their colleges, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen have all seen the biggest increases.
"The SNP are blatantly prioritising colleges in big cities while areas dominated by towns and villages are left out.”
Ayrshire MPs Lillian Jones, Alan Gemmell, Elaine Stewart, and Irene Campbell said: “Under the SNP, Ayrshire College has lost the most in the latest round of cuts by the Scottish Funding Council. A proposed £2.1 million cut to its core funding is a hammer blow to opportunity for young people across Ayrshire.
“The college already receives four applications for every available place, with 831 young people being turned away this year. Yet instead of expanding access, cuts risk a campus closure, course reductions, and fewer staff to support students.
“It is unacceptable that Ayrshire, more than any other region, faces some of the deepest funding pressures. The SNP Government’s failure to invest in college education threatens Scotland’s future. Young people are being left without a path forward, forced to sign on at the job centre when they should be learning or earning.”
It comes as Forth Valley College is considering shutting its Alloa campus due to funding issues.
Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman said: “I think when you look at see what's happening in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and then the abandonment from the Scottish Government across Forth Valley and the wider college sector, I think there is unfairness there.
“We can see that funding is being concentrated in our two biggest cities. I think that's unfair, but I don't want to single them out and say that is bad. I think that the full sector needs investment, and it needs a radical change in how the entire Scottish college funding mechanism operates.”
Falkirk MP Euan Stainbank said: “"The continued uncertainty about the future of Alloa Campus is unacceptable. This places the future of young, working-class kids in the balance, not just in Alloa, but in Falkirk and Stirling too.
“The SNP should immediately reverse their systematic and devastating cuts to the sector.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government recognises the vital role that all colleges play in education and the economy. Through the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), funding allocations in this year's budget provide the sector with a 2.6 per cent increase in teaching funding compared with last year. It is up to the SFC and the college sector to work together on how best to allocate available resources.
“We will continue to work closely with colleges to ensure a successful and sustainable future, recognising the high-level pressures facing the sector outlined in recent reports from Audit Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council. Specific operational decisions on resourcing are a matter for individual colleges themselves."
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.