Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 April 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent Scottish Funding Council statistics showing that, in 2015-16, 8% of the Scotland-based entrants at the universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews universities came from the 20% most-deprived areas, and how it will support more pupils from deprived areas seeking to enter higher education.
The Scottish Government welcomes the increase (to 16.1% 2015-16) in the proportion of entrants to higher education from the 20% most deprived areas. However, the variation in performance on access between colleges and universities, and across universities, is an issue we are determined to address. Even within the 8% figure we know that there is considerable variation, with other published sources consistently placing Glasgow well above the other three institutions mentioned.
Ensuring that a child born in any Scottish community can consider accessing a university education was the reason why we established the Commission on Widening Access, and we have committed to implementing its recommendations in full. This includes the target to ensure that by 2030, students from the 20% most deprived areas should represent 20% of full-time first degree entrants to university; as well as the target that by 2021, students from the 20% most deprived areas should represent at least 10% of full-time first degree entrants to every individual university.
The Scottish Government has invested £133 million since 2013-14 in additional widening access and articulation places to act as a catalyst for accelerated progress. All additional places funded since 2013-14 are being embedded in the core funding for universities. This means that more than £51 million is invested each year to support approximately 7,000 places.
The Scottish Government recognises that universities are autonomous institutions, each with its own responsibility for student recruitment and admissions policy. Beyond investment in places, it is the duty of the whole education system and policymakers to take forward the actions that will ensure the Commission’s principal target is met. We accept universities cannot do this alone, and we expect the Commissioner for Fair Access to challenge everyone to play a full part.