Education Maintenance Allowances (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2011 (SSI 2011/261)
Item 4 is consideration of a negative Scottish statutory instrument. Members will have read the clerk’s note on the regulations and I confirm that no motion to annul has been lodged. Are members content with the regulations?
Yes, but I wonder whether I might make a comment.
Of course.
I do not know whether other members have received these comments, but the National Union of Students has expressed concerns about consultation and certain potential unintended consequences. The primary concern is that a student based in Scotland who receives the English education maintenance allowance, which is to be withdrawn in the summer, might be left without support and have to rely on bursaries from colleges, which, as we all know, are under a bit of pressure at the moment. The NUS might well do so itself, but would we be able to raise its concerns with the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning and seek assurances with regard to any unintended consequences without in any way holding up the regulations?
I agree with that suggestion. I have no difficulty with the regulations as they stand, but it would be helpful to get the cabinet secretary’s comments on the discussions that he is having or plans to have with UK counterparts about successor arrangements south of the border and how they will work in relation to UK-domiciled students studying in Scotland over the medium to longer term.
The sensible course of action would be for me to write on behalf of the committee to the cabinet secretary, asking the questions that both members have raised and highlighting some of the detail in the NUS submission which I believe we have all received. It is entirely appropriate to ask about the Government’s intentions. I hope that we will get an answer as soon as possible—certainly before the start of the new term—and we can circulate it to members when it becomes available. Is that acceptable?
If members have no recommendations to make on the regulations, are we content to agree them?
Previous
Scottish Government Priorities