Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme

That the Parliament understands that employers’ contributions to the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (STPS) reportedly increased by 3% in Scotland on 1 April 2024; further understands that the UK Government has committed to covering the increasing costs for schools and colleges in the Teachers' Pension Scheme in England but not higher education institutions; considers that post-1992 university employers are already facing financial difficulties, which, it understands, has resulted in course closures and job cuts; believes that this situation will worsen dramatically without additional support for post-1992 university employers, impacting upon the student experience, putting jobs at risk, risking the widening access work of post-1992 universities and harming the reputation of the higher education sector, and calls, therefore, on the Scottish Government to urgently evaluate any impact of the reported absence of additional funding for universities covering the increase in STPS contributions on education provision, university access and employment.