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The Scottish Government will publish a statistical report on the results of the PISA 2022 assessments on 5 December 2023, which will include internationally comparable results on maths, science and reading. The publication is timed to coincide with the release of the international results by the OECD, which will include the results of all 81 participating countries and economies.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has recently begun collecting students’ reasons for withdrawal (RfW) from colleges. SFC will be working with Colleges Scotland and College Development Network (CDN) to improve the capture of student withdrawal data in future years to enable publication.

I refer the member to the question S6W-20602 on
‎ 29 August 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Local authorities are responsible for school enrolments in their area, and this includes providing information to parents and carers regarding their rights on deferring starting primary school.

In 2022 and 2023, we wrote to local authorities to encourage them to review any local processes and communications to reflect the change in legislation.

The Scottish Government has updated the Parent Club website to reflect the legislation change from August 2023.

The Scottish Government does not collect this type of data.

The Scottish Government regularly publishes data on wealth from the Office for National Statistics Wealth and Assets Survey. The most recent report can be found at Wealth in Scotland 2006-2020 (data.gov.scot) . More detailed analyses are available on the Office for National Statistics website at Household total wealth in Great Britain - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) . The Wealth and Assets Survey includes gifts transferred within a period, but does not measure lifetime intergenerational wealth, or attribution of current assets to intergenerational help.

Analyses looking at intergenerational sources of wealth across the UK have been carried out by various other organisations and the academic sector, for instance Who gives wealth transfers to whom and when? Patterns in the giving and receiving of lifetime gifts and loans | Institute for Fiscal Studies (ifs.org.uk) and Intergenerational Income Mobility in the UK: New evidence using the BHPS and Understanding Society .

Information on the number of enrolments, student headcount and full-time equivalent places (FTE) over the last decade in Scottish colleges is published by the Scottish Funding Council in their annual college statistics release which is published here:

College Statistics 2021-22 (sfc.ac.uk)

Data prior to this can be found in older releases here:

Statistical publication schedule (sfc.ac.uk)

Official Statistics published by the Scottish Funding Council in their annual College Statistics release show that in 2021-22 there were 69,036 full-time Higher (HE) and Further Education (FE) college enrolments in total. Although this is a decrease of around 10,000 on 2012-13, part-time HE and FE enrolments have increased by nearly 35,000 in total over the same period (from 218,616 in 2012-13 to 253,296 in 2021-22).

Academic year 2021-22 saw increases in enrolments, headcount and full-time equivalent places on the previous year; as well as increased numbers upskilling and reskilling on short courses, and increased opportunities for those furthest from the workplace.

Colleges continue to evolve their offer, whether full-time, part-time or a tailored mix, taking account of the diverse needs of learners; while continuing to respond flexibly to the social and economic needs of the regions they serve through the delivery of short courses aimed at upskilling and reskilling.

The increase in college withdrawal rates from 2020-21 to 2021-22 highlights the challenges faced by our colleges and their learners with the ongoing disruption to delivery caused by COVID, and the emergence of the cost-of-living crisis.

College learners faced repeated interruptions to normal delivery in 2021-22, particularly with the emergence of the Omicron variant; while some learners chose to enter employment due to the buoyant labour market and the beginning of the cost-of-living crisis.

We recognise that for many students, leaving college courses early for employment is a positive choice, despite its negative classification as a withdrawal within the Scottish Funding Council’s statistics. The SFC are currently working with the sector to better identify those who leave college to take up work opportunities.

Attainment is a complex area with many contributing factors. Our colleges provide education and training for a wide group of learners with different backgrounds, experience and levels of prior attainment.

Raising attainment is a shared priority across the education portfolio and we will continue to work with the sector to help students overcome barriers to learning to ensure they can reach their full potential.