Spending on the weekly education maintenance allowance (EMA) - designed to keep young people from deprived backgrounds in education after they turn 16 - has almost halved since it peaked in Scotland in 2008-09.
The total EMA spend in 2021-22 was £18.6 million, according to official statistics published in July.
This is a reduction of approximately 19 per cent on the previous year, when total spend was £22.1 million. It is also down 48 per cent on 2008-09, when it hit £35.4 million.
Of the money spent on EMA in 2021-22, £13.9 million was on school recipients, or 75 per cent of total payments.
About 14 per cent of all Scottish 16- to 18-year-olds received at least one EMA payment in 2021-22 - down from 19 per cent in 2016-17.
In 2021-22, there were 17,035 recipients in school; in 2016-17 there were 20,110.
Last week, concerns were raised in the Scottish Parliament by SNP MSP Stephanie Callaghan that students with additional support needs - and on reduced timetables - were missing out on the education maintenance allowance because they were not in full-time education.
Responding, education secretary Jenny Gilruth urged councils to be flexible when considering applications from students with additional support needs.
She said: “The guidance makes clear the need for flexibility when administering EMA for young people with additional support needs because we recognise that they often require non-standard attendance patterns that might fall short of full-time criteria.”
Vital support
Ms Gilruth also said that promotion and awareness-raising of the EMA programme was the responsibility of local authorities, the Scottish Funding Council, and colleges and schools, but that the government “continues to work closely with those delivery partners to ensure that effective promotion is maintained”.
She added: “I would encourage every young person who is eligible to apply so that they can receive that vital support.”
The EMA is a weekly payment of £30, paid every two weeks in arrears.
It gives financial support to eligible 16- to 19-year-olds who want to continue learning.
The average payment per EMA recipient was £777 in 2021-22.
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