Liberal Democrats secure extended student mental health funding

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP has today welcomed the announcement that student mental health funding will be extended into the upcoming academic year after repeated calls from his party to ensure that support continued.  

In a letter to the Education Committee, Higher and Further Education Minister Graeme Day confirmed that the government would provide a further £3.21 million in mental health support for students in the 2023/24 academic year. This funding extends to providing mental health counselling.

When the budget was debated in Parliament at the beginning of this year, the government proposed cutting funding for mental health counsellors in colleges and universities. Mr Rennie has consistently called for that proposal to be reversed and for the funding to be extended.  

Mr Rennie said:  

“It’s extremely promising to see that the government have finally listened to Liberal Democrat calls. Students have had a rough deal over the past few years and this SNP government has adopted a consistently half-baked approach.  

“Had the government’s ill-advised cuts gone ahead, students would have been deprived of vital mental health support, making it harder for them to make the most of their time in higher education.  

“Mental wellbeing is absolutely foundational to helping people achieve their potential. The government must now go further and extend this funding beyond a year and consider what more can be done to connect college and university services with the wider NHS."