Labour must hate the IFS. In the last few day’s they’ve pinned £18bn of cuts on them. A year ago……see below.

The Scottish Government spends £4.2 billion on education and skills.

Anas Sarwar has promised another £150 million or only 3.5% more but it is already 18% higher than in the rest of the UK.

From the IFS last year:

In the most recent year (2022–23), school spending per pupil in Scotland was over £8,500. This is over 18% or £1,300 higher than the level seen in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, all around £7,200 per pupil. School spending per pupil in Scotland was already 6% higher than in England in 2010. Since then, the gap with the rest of the UK has significantly grown.

Spending per pupil in Scotland grew by 13% in real terms between 2009–10 and 2022–23. This partly reflects funding to cover higher teacher pay offers, such as the 7% salary rises in both 2019–20 and 2022–23. In Wales, spending per pupil in 2022–23 is only about 3% higher than in 2009–10, and it is about 2% higher in Northern Ireland than our earliest point of comparison in 2011–12. In England, spending per pupil is expected to get back to 2010 levels by next year.

_{https://ifs.org.uk/news/growing-gap-school-spending-pupil-between-scotland-and-rest-uk}