Pupils should be given books on savings and debt, say Tories

Schools should be given free textbooks so they can teach children about personal finance.

The Scottish Conservatives want to see a recently-launched English initiative to help pupils learn about savings and debt rolled out in Scotland.

The party said the Scottish government could look at offering funding for the scheme alongside businesses.

But the government said there are "a range of resources available" to teach financial education.

Tory economy spokesman Dean Lockhart said: "It's essential our young people learn about all aspects of personal finance.

"It will improve their own education, and might even help the wider economy further down the line with a generation of young people more knowledgeable about money and how to use it."

"The wheels are already in motion south of the border, and we don't want our youngsters to be left behind.

"It would not have to be overly expensive to provide these books, and could be done either in partnership with the business community or from Scottish government funds."

Financial skills

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "Financial education is a core aspect of learning within Curriculum for Excellence and there are already a range of resources available to schools to support young people's financial skills, encourage a savings ethos at an early age and help teach children about issues such as debt and money management."

She added that schools are partnered with financial organisations which provide support, including RBS Moneysense, HMRC and Lifeskills Barclaycard.

The original idea for the scheme came from a collaboration between MoneySavingExpert website founder Martin Lewis and financial education charity Young Money.