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Schools in North Lanarkshire will benefit from a £8,871,600 funding boost as part of the Scottish Government’s drive to improve standards in schools, it has been revealed.

The share each school is due to receive from the Scottish Government’s new £120 million Pupil Equity Fund has been revealed by Deputy First Minister John Swinney.

120 primaries and 23 secondaries across North Lanarkshire are set to receive additional support worth thousands of pounds. It will be up to teachers and school leaders to decide the best way of using the funding to close the poverty related attainment gap in their schools.

Welcoming the announcement, SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor said:

Every child in Scotland should have the best possible start in life, and it is unacceptable for children from the poorest backgrounds to have their chances limited by circumstances outside their control. The SNP in government has made closing the poverty-related attainment gap our number one priority, and our new £120 million Pupil Equity Fund is aimed at doing just that – supporting 120 primaries and 23 secondaries in North Lanarkshire.

This new announcement will let parents, teachers and school leaders in Coatbridge & Chryston see how much funding they can expect to drive up standards and tackle the inter-generational cycle of deprivation in their school.”

Furthermore, Mr MacGregor put forward a question asking the Scottish Government what percentage of pupils has achieved at least one qualification at Higher level or equivalent in each year since 1999.

Depute First Minister John Swinney responded:

“The percentage of school leavers attaining at least one qualification at SCQF 6 (Higher and equivalents) or better from 1998-99 to 2014-15 is shown in the following table.”

Mr MacGregor says of these figures:

“It’s clear to see that devolution has had a positive impact on education in Scotland, particularly from 2007 when the SNP took office. It’s great to see our fantastic teacher’s hard work is paying off – and shows just how talented our youngsters are.”

SNP MSP for Coatbridge & Chryston Fulton MacGregor has voiced his anger at the news that the DWP processing centre in Coatbridge town centre is to close.

Staff were informed this morning (Thursday) that they would be transferred either to Motherwell or Glasgow and that the building will close by the March 2018.

The MSP is due to meet with district manager Etta Wright on Monday and will be raising the subject with her, in particular the lack of notice that has been given to the staff.

Fulton MacGregor said:

‘I was shocked to hear that this centre is to close and that the decision has been taken without any consultation with staff.

‘The DWP staff there fought hard to retain jobs in Coatbridge when the decision was taken many years ago to close the job centre plus services, and now they face being uprooted anyway.

‘Following the decision to close half the job centres in Glasgow, this is just another in a long line of decisions taken by the Tories in London with no regard for the people involved, surrounding businesses and the local communities.

‘I will be raising this issue with the district manager when I meet her on Monday and will be writing to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to urge him to halt these summary closures of services throughout Scotland.

‘I have also been in touch with my colleague Phil Boswell MP and we are ready to support anyone affected by these decisions. I would urge anyone with concerns to get in touch.