Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-18848

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding whether the Air Discount Scheme will continue post-Brexit, given that it operates under the EU's General Block Exemption Regulation.

The Scottish Government is committed to the continuation of the Air Discount Scheme and will make a formal announcement on the continuation of the scheme in due course. The Air Discount Scheme is notified to the European Commission under the General Block Exemption Regulation in order to ensure compliance with EU State Aid rules rather than being necessary for the scheme to function. Brexit will not impact on the continuation of the scheme.

Question reference: S5O-02439

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 September 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether an islands impact assessment was carried out when it removed the water and sewerage charges exemption for charitable bodies, such as public community halls.

Question reference: S5W-18403

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 25 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have graduated with outstanding student loans in each year since 1999; what proportion from each year has now completed their repayments, and what the (a) average and (b) highest amount is that a graduate from each year still has outstanding.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) provides statistics on loan outlays, repayments and borrower repayment status for Scotland domiciled students studying in Higher Education (HE) in the UK and EU students studying in Scotland. The figures cover Income Contingent Loans (ICR), which were introduced in 1998-99, for financial years up to and including 2017-18.

Most of the statistics requested are published in the background tables in the ‘Student Loans for Higher Education in Scotland: financial year 2017-18’ publication and available from the SLC website https://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment/scotland.aspx . The numbers are reproduced below, with the table references indicating the source of the data on the website.

Repayment of ICR student loans

Repayment cohort	No. borrowers (thousands) [Table 3i]	Proportion completed repayments [Table 3ii]	Average amount outstanding (£) [Table 5iii]
2000	9.4	42.5%	6,650
2001	13.2	39.7%	7,170
2002	21.2	35.9%	8,030
2003	34.0	41.8%	7,830
2004	34.7	41.8%	7,710
2005	34.5	41.8%	7,640
2006	33.0	39.6%	7,760
2007	31.2	37.4%	7,650
2008	28.7	35.7%	7,580
2009	27.1	31.8%	7,690
2010	27.7	27.8%	7,850
2011	27.8	23.6%	8,060
2012	24.7	19.2%	8,650
2013	26.1	14.3%	9,220
2014	29.2	9.9%	9,680
2015	29.9	4.9%	11,220
2016	35.3	2.6%	11,480
2017	33.8	1.8%	11,650
2018	33.8	1.2%	13,230

Source: Student Loans for Higher Education in Scotland: financial year 2017-18

Notes:

SLC records do not distinguish between graduates and those in further study, and so the figures refer to the broader term of ‘borrowers’.
The year of Repayment Cohort represents those borrowers who became liable to repay in April of that year.
The Loan Balance for cohorts up to and including the 2016 cohort represents the position after the processing of the 2016-17 tax returns. The latest known Loan Balance for the 2017 cohort is at 31-03-2017 on entry into the 2017-18 tax year. The latest known Loan Balance for the 2018 cohort is at 31-03-2018 on entry into the 2018-19 tax year.
The proportion who has completed repayments includes those who have had their loan cancelled, mostly due to either death or disability.
Within each cohort there is a proportion of borrowers who will at some point return to higher education and take out additional loans to cover costs of tuition and/or living costs. This debt is also included in the statistics above and this explains why the outstanding debt increases in the years after entering repayment rather than decreasing as may be expected.
All numbers refer to borrowers who received loans as Scottish domiciled students studying in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK, or as EU domiciled students studying in Scotland.

Information on the highest amount still outstanding has been supplied by SLC and has been included below.

Highest Outstanding Loan Balances For Scottish Funded Borrowers

Repayment cohort	Highest amount outstanding (£)
2000	79,500
2001	66,500
2002	76,900
2003	72,200
2004	74,700
2005	59,300
2006	82,300
2007	71,900
2008	68,000
2009	71,900
2010	65,100
2011	65,200
2012	80,000
2013	66,600
2014	64,800
2015	67,100
2016	71,400
2017	76,700
2018	74,700

Source: Student Loans Company

Notes:

Only customers where all of their outstanding loans are Scottish domiciled loans are included.
Customers domiciled in Scotland, but studying elsewhere are included.
Income Contingent Loan products included in the selection are - SS (Student Support), SE (Scottish Graduate Endowment), FL (Fee Loans), TL (Transitional Loans), & PT (Part Time Loans).
Only loans with a Statutory Repayment Due Date on or before 06-04-2018 are included - i.e. excludes loans not yet in repayment.
The cohort is defined as the minimum Statutory Repayment Due Date (SRDD) for the customer.
Customers with multiple SRDDs are included.
The Outstanding balance is defined as the sum of the customer's interest bearing balance and non-interest bearing balance.

Question reference: S5W-18459

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 25 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18286 by Graeme Dey on 24 August 2018, how many written parliamentary questions it received in 2017-18, and on how many occasions it issued a holding response.

The Scottish Government provides an Quarterly Audit of Parliamentary Questions which are placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. Figures take from these audits are as follows:

Quarter	Questions answered on time	Questions answered after due date
January - March 2017	2213	195
April - June 2017	1247	116
July - September 2017	1434	113
October - December 2017	2018	135
January - March 2018	2303	218
Total	9215	777

Question reference: S5W-18656

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 07 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been received each year for the Islands Housing Fund, and how many were approved.

Question reference: S5W-18658

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 07 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the Islands Housing Fund's ring-fenced £5 million has been spent.

Question reference: S5W-18655

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 07 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to renew the Islands Housing Fund after 2019.

Question reference: S5W-18657

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 07 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government where it has advertised the Islands Housing Fund.

Following the announcement on the Islands Housing Fund, the Scottish Government issued a news release in September 2016 to confirm availability of the Fund. Information on the Fund is also available on the Scottish Government website. Presentations have been made by the Scottish Government at relevant rural housing events, including the RIHAF conference in October 2016 and the Rural Housing Scotland conference in February 2017. The Stakeholder Group for the development of our Rural Housing Fund, which comprises a wide range of stakeholders representing the housing sector, have also promoted the availability of the Fund.

Question reference: S5W-18659

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 07 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes (a) have been and (b) are being built with support from the Islands Housing Fund, and where these are located.

Question reference: S5W-18584

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the vote in the Parliament on 29 March 2017 on motion S5M-04920 (Official Report, c.80), for what reason it has not separated the curriculum and inspection functions of Education Scotland.

Education Scotland continues to play a vital role in ensuring that standards are understood and maintained at all levels of the Scottish education system.

Its ability to perform this function would be significantly diminished were it not to be able to draw on first hand observation and evaluation of practice. Its dual role in supporting development of the curriculum and providing independent evaluation of its implementation ensures a continuous cycle of improvement across the system. Its status as an Executive Agency and its governance arrangements enable it to operate independently and impartially.

Education Scotland’s approach to inspection focuses on working with establishments or services to enable them to develop an ability to evaluate themselves and to use those findings to take forward their plans for improvement.

Education Scotland is currently making the transition to a regional delivery model, with a collective and collaborative approach to improving education at national, regional and local levels. Its school inspection activity, its thematic inspections and its development of a local authority self-evaluation framework will all provide valuable insight into the empowerment of schools and impact of our education reforms.

Year	Feasibility Fund – Number of Applications Received	Feasibility Fund – Number of Applications Approved	Main Fund – Number of Applications Received	Main Fund – Number of Applications Approved
2016-17	5	4	3	2
2017-18	8	7	0	0
2018-19	6	5	3	3