Despite a challenging financial environment, we have continued to show our long-term commitment to Scotland’s universities by investing over £1 billion of teaching and research grant funding in the sector in 2024-25, having done so in each year since 2012-13. Our student support offering and policy on free tuition is supporting over 115,000 students this year, and Student Awards Agency for Scotland statistics show that the total amount of direct support to students is over £1 billion for the fifth year in a row.

Ensuring that our universities are on a sustainable trajectory is also at the heart of our on-going work and engagement with the sector to reform the wider post-school education and skills system so that the significant investment that we are making delivers the best outcomes for learners, the economy and society.