The Secretary of State for Scotland has called for Holyrood to “think again” about funding for Forth Valley College’s Alloa campus, which currently educates 461 students, and faces possible closure.
The response comes after Chris Kane, Stirling and Strathallan’s local MP, accused Scotland’s SNP Government of “neglecting the institutions that could drive growth” in Scotland on Wednesday, in regards to Holyrood’s management of Scottish colleges.
The college has faced fears of shutdown for several months, and the call for reconsideration comes after a rally to stop the shutdown in November, and Alloa’s MP Brian Leishman advocating for Forth Valley and all other Scottish colleges to receive “proper funding” at Westminster in October.
Kane has previously praised Forth Valley College for their resilience through the funding crisis.
“They’ve [colleges] been underinvested, they’ve been underappreciated, and they are heroically delivering services in a way that I am amazed that they are still standing.
“You know Kenny [MacIness] at Forth Valley College is doing an incredible job, he’s coming under a huge amount of pressure from his students, from his workforce, from the government, the council and others, and I think if you just take a minute and see what he is trying to do with his board and his senior management, with not enough resource, is remarkable.”
The Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander, responded to Kane’s concerns in full:
“The funding of Forth Valley college is a matter for the Scottish Government. Scottish colleges had their funding cut by 20% between 2021-22 and 2025-26.
“As the UK Government, we have delivered a record funding settlement to the Scottish Government. For as long as no final decision has been reached regarding the Alloa campus, I urge the Scottish Government, in the words of ‘Flower of Scotland’, to ‘think again’.
“The facts are clear. The spending review was historic for Scotland and delivered the largest real-terms settlement for the Scottish Government in the 25 years of devolution, with an average of £50.9 billion per year between 2026-27 and 2028-29.
It simply makes no sense to cut the further education college budget in Scotland by 20%, and it is definitely time for a new direction.”
Kane responded to this intervention positively.
“These cuts to Scotland’s college budgets are short-sighted and unnecessary. I welcome the Secretary of State’s intervention on this issue.
“Forth Valley College is central to skills development and job creation across our region. Students in Stirling and Strathallan deserve investment in their future, not cuts that undermine opportunity. The SNP Government must rethink this damaging approach”
Forth Valley College’s three-campus model, where it operates a campus in Stirling, Falkirk, and Alloa, has been deemed financially unsustainable as the Alloa campus faces possible shut.
Kane blames flat cash settlements for this. “When inflation runs X per cent, and you run it at a flat cash, it means that over time you cause a problem”.
“I think what’s happening in further education has been caused by many many years of a Scottish Government that’s taken its eye off the ball big time in a sense of what local colleges can do.”
Despite this, recruitment for 2026/2027 courses is still underway, as no final decision on the campus’s future has been made yet.
Kenny MacInnes, Principal of Forth Valley College, said: “Forth Valley College’s Senior Management Team continues to actively engage with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), key partners, Scottish Government and several Members of the Scottish and UK Parliaments in relation to our Alloa Campus, and funding as a whole, to discuss potential options to protect the future of the College.
“I take every opportunity in all my engagements with politicians and stakeholders to stress the importance and value of all our campuses for our local communities and the need for Forth Valley College to sustain our three campuses to deliver on the significant future opportunities for the Forth Valley Region.”
Featured Image Credit: Forth Valley College
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