Glasgow City Council is to commission research into the rise in neurodivergence among school pupils in the city, as growing demand for additional support pushes spending millions of pounds over budget.

The council plans to work with a university to examine the reasons behind the increase in pupils needing extra help in class. The move was discussed at a council committee meeting, where members heard that additional support for learning in the city's schools is running £4.5 million over budget this year.

Extra staff needed to meet demand and higher transport costs are behind much of the overspend, according to a report on the council's finances. The council is also forecasting a net overspend of £9.1 million across its budgets, which would have to be met from general reserves.

Why the research is needed

City Labour leader Rashid Hussain raised the issue at the committee, asking what the council was doing about the pressures on additional support services. An education official told members that work was already taking place in schools and that research into the rise was being procured with a university.

"We are also carrying out some research on the rise of neurodivergence within Glasgow and on a national basis," the official said. "We are looking to procure that currently with one of the universities to look at the reasons why."

The official described the increase as a national picture, seen across Scotland as well as in Glasgow. No university has been named yet, and no date has been given for when the research will report back.

Where the money is going

The figures were set out in a report from city treasurer Councillor Greg Hepburn, covering the council's financial performance between April and September this year. As well as the £4.5 million overspend on additional support for learning, the report pointed to other pressures in the same area, including under-recovery of income from purchased placing requests and increased costs linked to additional support needs tribunals.

The council also reported a £4 million overspend on refuse collection and disposal within its neighbourhoods, regeneration and sustainability department.

The pressures reflect a wider trend. A council report in 2025 found that around half of Glasgow's secondary school pupils — 50.72 per cent — were recorded as having additional support needs in the 2023 to 2024 school year, along with 33.66 per cent of primary pupils. Across Scotland, 40.5 per cent of all pupils were recorded as having an additional support need in 2024.

Families have also increasingly turned to tribunals to secure places and support. The number of parents in Glasgow going to tribunals over additional support needs school places rose from six in 2019 to 103, according to figures reported last year.

The council has not said how much the new research will cost or how long it will take. Its aim, officials said, is to understand what is driving the rise in need so that support in schools can be planned around it.