- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 18 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many students attending university or further education college (a) applied for and (b) received a student loan in each of the past five years, showing the average amount borrowed and expressed as a percentage of all Scottish students for that year.
Answer
Comprehensive figures in the form requested on the total numbers applying for a student loan, either through the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) or direct to the Student Loans Company (SLC), could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Students apply for support to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS), which assesses whether applicants are eligible for a student loan and the maximum amount of loan to which they would be entitled, based on the information provided in the application. This information is then sent to the Student Loans Company (SLC).Where a student does not apply for a loan as part of their original application for support, SAAS nevertheless assesses entitlement and provides information on the amount the student would be entitled to borrow. The student may then apply for a loan later in the academic year, by applying directly to SLC, without requiring to inform SAAS.The figures can be provided for the number of students assessed by SAAS as eligible for a loan. These will be higher than the number of students who applied for a loan.
Academic Year | Number of Students Assessed by SAAS as Eligible for Loan | Number of Loans Paid | Amount of Loans Paid | Average of Loans Paid |
1996-97 | 110,587 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
1997-98 | 115,143 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
1998-99 | 107,542 | 54,746 | 86,483,261 | 1,579.72 |
1999-2000 | 100,972 | 84,515 | 200,292,385 | 2,369.90 |
2000-01 | 107,246 | 88,786 | 210,067,180 | 2,365.99 |
These figures include loans paid under the "mortgage-style" scheme and the income contingent loan scheme. (Source: Student Loans Company). Separate data on Scottish domiciled students is not available for the years before 1998-99.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 18 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time students have undertaken study at each (i) university and (ii) further education college in each of the past five years, broken down by course classification type.
Answer
Information on student numbers by institution and by subject in further and higher education over the last five years can be found in the Standard Tables on Higher Education and Further Education in Scotland, published by the Scottish Executive under National Statistics in June 2001.Copies are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No. 18496) or on the Scottish Executive website at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00086-00.asp
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 18 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time academic staff at each (i) university and (ii) further education college were (1) newly employed, (2) took early retirement, (3) were required to take compulsory retirement and (4) did not have their contracts renewed in each of the past five years, broken down by occupational category and shown as a percentage of all academic employees in each category at each institution.
Answer
The information requested is not collected in this format for further education colleges.For higher education institutions, information for point 3 is not collected and that for points 2 and 4 could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.Tables relating to point 1 for HEIs, named "Newly employed staff in HEIs", have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No.18528).
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 18 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many student complaints, grievances and academic appeals were lodged at each (a) university and (b) further education college in each of the past five years, broken down by course classification type.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 18 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many former student loan-holders have incurred financial penalties for defaulting on their loans in each of the past five years, showing the average period of default and penalty imposed and expressed as a percentage of the total number of loan-holders in each year.
Answer
At 31 March 2001, the most recent date for which figures are available, 14,537 student loan accounts held by Scottish domiciled students were subject to a financial penalty. This represents 7% of the total number of loans held by such students.Information on the average period which each students spends in default, the average charge applied or the comparable position in previous years is not available or could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 18 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the procedures for dealing with student complaints, grievances, academic assessments and appeals in respect of each of these categories in all universities and further education colleges are compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights and whether it will detail any action it has undertaken to ensure that this is the case and the reasons for any such action.
Answer
Higher education institutions and further education colleges are autonomous bodies under the terms of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 and are therefore responsible themselves for ensuring that their procedures comply with all relevant legislation. Institutions and colleges have been advised to review their practices and procedures to ensure that they do comply with the convention.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 18 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time students of each (i) university and (ii) further education college were designated as having a physical disability in each of the past five years, broken down by course classification type and shown as a percentage of the overall student population at each institution and on each course.
Answer
This information is not held centrally for further education colleges.Tables answering this question for higher education institutions, named "Students and disabled students in HE", have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No.18526)More detailed breakdown could only be achieved at disproportionate cost and would raise difficulties in terms of the potential identification of individuals and thus, data protection.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 18 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time academic staff were employed at each (i) university and (ii) further education college in each of the past five years, also shown as a percentage of the gross national employment figure.
Answer
Tables relating to these questions, named "Teaching Staff in FE and HE", have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No. 18527)The Gross National Employment figure for the last six years has been:
Aug 2000-Oct 2001 | 2,382,000 |
Aug 1999-Oct 2000 | 2,377,000 |
Aug 1998-Oct 1999 | 2,332,000 |
Aug 1997-Oct 1998 | 2,302,000 |
Aug 1996-Oct 1997 | 2,317,000 |
Aug 1995-Oct 1996 | 2,267,000 |
Source: the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 18 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was provided to each (a) university and (b) further education college in each of the past five years, also shown as a percentage of the gross national funding figure.
Answer
This is a matter for the Scottish Funding Councils for Higher Education and Further Education. The Information requested is not held centrally.For further education colleges, funding allocations for the current academic year can be found on the Scottish Further Education Funding Council's website at
www.sfefc.ac.uk. Allocations for the previous two years are published in the council's 2000-01 and 1999-2000 annual report and accounts. Copies of these are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No's 18518 and 18517) or on the council's website. Prior to these dates, the information about allocations can be found in the Secretary of State's annual published reports,
Further Education in Scotland, 1998 and 1997. Copies of these are also available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No's 18520 and 18521).For higher education institutions, this information can be found in the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council's annual report and accounts. These can be found on SHEFC's website at www.shefc.ac.uk/content/library/others/annrep/intro.htm. Copies of the three most recent years plans are also available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No's 2000-01-18497, 1999-00-18525, 1998-99-18524). The latest information on the grant allocation to institutions for 2001-02 can be found in the council's grant letter, again published on the SHEFC website at:
http://www.shefc.ac.uk/content/library/circs/01/he0901/Mainltr/contents.htmlThis provides the initial allocations to institutions for the year, but will not take account of further allocations made subsequently during the current year.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 18 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the appointment and assessment processes for external academic assessors in all universities and further education colleges are compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights and whether it will detail any action it has undertaken to ensure that this is the case and the reasons for any such action.
Answer
Higher education institutions and further education colleges are autonomous bodies under the terms of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 and are therefore responsible themselves for ensuring that their procedures comply with all relevant legislation. Institutions and colleges have been advised to review their practices and procedures to ensure that they do comply with the convention.
