Official Report: search what was said in Parliament
The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Filter your results Hide all filters
Displaying 3697 contributions
|
Finance and Public Administration Committee
Subordinate Legislation
Meeting date: 4 March 2025
John Mason
It has always been a balancing act, but, given what was said earlier about social security in particular, which is demand-led, as, to some extent, is the health service, it strikes me that it is becoming increasingly hard to predict. There is more volatility in the budget. I am concerned—I do not know whether the Government is concerned—that it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay within the limit, which I understand is increasing only by inflation.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Widening Access to Higher Education
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
John Mason
Ms Rohmer, you talked about rural areas, which are such big areas that there are bits in poverty and bits that are better off. Is it not the case that a poorer family in a better-off area will tend to get more support and care, whereas a family or an individual who lives in an area where everybody is deprived, such as parts of the east end of Glasgow, for example, will find it much more difficult to access care because there is so much need?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Widening Access to Higher Education
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
John Mason
Mr Dunphy, we are talking about trying to make the whole system more individualised to target where need is greatest. I made the point to the commissioner that, sometimes, there are two families or households that appear to be in similar financial situations, but in one, there is great cohesion and real commitment to education from the adults, and in the other, there is not. Can we get to a stage where we target the support to the individual or student who needs it?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Widening Access to Higher Education
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
John Mason
Thanks very much.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Widening Access to Higher Education
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
John Mason
Ms McPherson spoke about a basket of measures. I have also asked the commissioner this question. Is there a danger that, if the measures become too wide and, in a sense, too individual, it will be very hard to see whether we are making progress because there are so many factors to consider? The SIMD is pretty clear cut. It gives us a clear measure and we know how we are doing.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Widening Access to Higher Education
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
John Mason
Would you stick with the SIMD as the galvanising measure? Should it be free school meals or something else?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Widening Access to Higher Education
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
John Mason
If you are arguing that there should be one headline indicator, but that it could be better, would free school meals be the one that you would be inclined to go for?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Widening Access to Higher Education
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
John Mason
I take your point that it is not perfect. There is the whole issue of stigma, too, with some families who are probably entitled to free school meals not actually claiming them.
You might also have two families, both of whom are on relatively low incomes. In the first household—and this, in my experience, is often the case with people from, say, an African background—the parents are very committed to education, are really supporting their kids and really want them to do well. Even if the parents have not done so well and are struggling a bit financially, those kids will have the huge advantage of getting all that support from their parents. The second household might not have two parents, say, and there might be no commitment to education at all. Those are the kids whom I feel that we need to be targeting, and I just wonder how we bring them into the system.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Widening Access to Higher Education
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
John Mason
Fair enough.
Let me see if I am understanding this correctly: in a better off area, there might be fewer kids from a deprived background, but the school can focus on them and give them extra support. There are parts of my constituency, though, where everyone in the whole area—or at least part of it—is struggling, which makes things very difficult for the school. Is that a picture that you recognise? It pulls me back to the idea that physical SIMD areas provide a good measure, because that will be reflected in the schools. Am I being unfair?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Widening Access to Higher Education
Meeting date: 26 February 2025
John Mason
You said that no institution is immune to the issues. Earlier, we talked about how there is quite a big difference between universities. One of the differences is that the University of Edinburgh has reserves of some £2 billion, and the University of Glasgow has about £1 billion, whereas Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of the West of Scotland have very little in comparison. The University of Edinburgh could run for 15 years with a deficit of £140 million and still be stable, so I struggle to understand why it is making anyone redundant. Obviously, you cannot speak for that university, but is it not the case that we have some very rich universities that do not need support and some poorer universities that need more support?
