Young people in Scotland are receiving thousands of pounds of financial support through free university tuition, free bus travel and education grants, according to new analysis highlighting the different approaches being taken north and south of the border.
The SNP has used the figures to call on the UK Government to introduce similar measures in England as young people prepare for the beginning of the new academic year.
In Scotland, university tuition remains free for eligible students, while people under the age of 22 can benefit from free bus travel and qualifying young people from lower income households can receive Education Maintenance Allowance.
EMA provides £30 a week to eligible 16 to 19 year olds who remain at school or continue into further education.
According to the figures released by the SNP, 21,240 young people received the allowance in Scotland during 2024 and 2025, with eligible students able to receive up to £1,140 during the year.
The party’s analysis estimates that 398,320 students have benefited from £317 million of EMA support in Scotland since 2010 and 2011.
It contrasts that with England, where EMA was abolished and university tuition fees are set to increase to £9,790 a year from September.
The SNP estimates that young people in England have missed out on a cumulative £8 billion of EMA support since 2010 and 2011, including an estimated £775 million this year.
The party also argues that restoring EMA in England could generate an additional £85 million to £90 million for Scotland through Barnett consequentials.
SNP Work and Pensions spokesperson Lara Bird MP said:
“Under the SNP, young people in Scotland are benefiting from the best cost of living support in the UK and they are saving thousands of pounds compared to the extra costs the Labour government is piling onto young people in England.
“In Scotland, the SNP scrapped tuition fees and as a result young people start their working lives with around £35,000 less debt than students in England.
“In contrast, tuition fees in England will soon increase for the second time since the Labour Party came to power.
“Andy Burnham promised to scrap tuition fees, instead he is increasing them to a record £9,790 a year from September.
“And while young people in Scotland are benefitting from up to £1,140 a year in Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) grants, to help them stay in education, the Labour Party’s refusal to reinstate the EMA means that young people in England will lose out on an estimated £775million of support this year.
“Andy Burnham must follow Scotland’s lead by matching the SNP government’s cost of living support for young people, including in areas like free bus travel for under 22s, where many young people in Scotland are saving over £1000 a year compared to young people in England.
“Doing so would deliver more funding right across the UK, meaning the Scottish Government would have more money to deliver more cost of living support for families and young people in Scotland too.
“The fact that Scotland has chosen a different path, with more support for families, shows the difference we could make with the full powers of independence.”
The figures provide another illustration of how decisions taken by governments in Edinburgh and Westminster can produce substantially different costs for young people depending on where in the UK they live.
With another academic year approaching, those differences in tuition, transport and financial support are likely to remain firmly part of the political argument over the cost of studying and starting adult life.
