Finance Committee, 30 Oct 2007

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Official Report 100KB pdf

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Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Item 2 is to consider our approach to the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill, which was introduced into Parliament on 23 September. As the Finance Committee, we are concerned not with the policy implications of legislation but with the financial implications. We would seek to take evidence from any bodies on which costs fall and from Scottish Government officials, rather than from ministers.

As members are aware, we have a three-level approach to scrutiny of financial memoranda. The paper from the clerks suggests that we adopt level 2 scrutiny for the bill, which means that we would take oral evidence from Scottish Government officials and then produce a report for the lead committee. I invite members to comment.

There is one minor omission from the clerks' paper. It refers to the operating costs that the bill will save the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, but I suspect that some operating costs for the Student Loans Company are involved, as the vast bulk of graduate endowments are capitalised and then recovered from the Student Loans Company. However, as the Student Loans Company is a hybrid organisation, any costs might be minimal, as it is collecting the money anyway, and they might not necessarily fall on the Scottish Government. Apart from that, it is a reasonable paper.

Do members agree to adopt level 2 scrutiny, as set out in the clerks' paper?

Members indicated agreement.