6.Section 1 of the Act requires the Scottish Ministers to prepare a national funding strategy for tertiary education, skills and apprenticeships, setting out Ministers’ view of skills needs in Scotland (including in different parts of Scotland); Ministers’ priorities for funding further education and higher education, programmes of training for employment (i.e. national training programmes – see section 10 of this Act), Scottish apprenticeships (see section 11) and work-based learning (see section 12); the outcomes which Ministers are seeking to deliver through funding those activities; and, in addition, such other information as Ministers consider appropriate to include in the strategy.
7.The Scottish Ministers must, as soon as reasonably practicable after this section comes into force, publish the strategy and lay it before the Scottish Parliament. They may from time to time revise the strategy, in which case the same obligations apply.
8.The Scottish Ministers must also from time to time prepare a report on the progress being made in delivering the outcomes set out in the strategy, and must publish that report and lay it before the Scottish Parliament too.
Commentary on Provisions Part 1 – National Funding Strategy Section 1: National funding strategy