- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 August 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what Scottish Funding Council activity it is considering cutting as part of the new lighter-touch approach to regulating universities announced in New Horizons: responding to the challenges of the 21st century, the interim report of the Joint Future Taskforce on Universities.
Answer
Following publication of New Horizons, John McClelland, Chair of the Scottish Funding Council, agreed to lead a review of the funding council''s processes and procedures in readiness for its future new role in relation to the governance of and funding policies for our universities. It is therefore the Scottish Funding Council that will be considering this matter and making proposals rather than the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13906 by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2008, how many students received financial support excluding non-means tested loans from the Scottish Government in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2005-06 and (d) 2004-05
Answer
The following table shows higher education students who are receiving support, other than non means tested maintenance loan, from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) in academic years 2004-2005 to 2006-2007.
| Academic Year | Number of students |
| 2004-05 | 117,155 |
| 2005-06 | 117,880 |
| 2006-07 | 119,090 |
Source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland.
Student numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5.
Students are included in the table if they receive support including tuition fees, (or tuition fee loans if they study outside Scotland) and/or awards and/or means tested maintenance loans.
This table does not include students on the Nursing and Midwifery Bursary Scheme. Academic year 2006-07 is the latest for which figures are available.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 17 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13911 by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2008, how many students will receive full financial support over the next three years if income thresholds are held static, as per the SAAS Eligibility efficiency savings, and earnings rise at the 2006-07 average rate of 3.1%.
Answer
The following table shows the number of students receiving full support from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) in academic years 2006-07 to 2009-10 based on the assumption that income thresholds remain static (at their 2006-07 levels) and that earnings increase by 3.1% every year.
Number of Students Receiving Full Support
| Academic Year | |
| 2006-07 | 35,310 |
| 2007-08 | 34,815 |
| 2008-09 | 34,220 |
| 2009-10 | 33,680 |
Source: Students receiving support 2006-2007: Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).
Note: Student numbers are rounded to the nearest five.
Students receiving full support have been defined as those who are:
1. Receiving the maximum Young Student Bursary or
2. The maximum Young Student Outside Scotland Bursary or
3. The maximum Students Outside Scotland Bursary or
4. Aged 25 or over and are receiving maximum maintenance loan or
5. Aged less than 25, are exempt from parental or spousal contributions to their support and are receiving maximum maintenance loan.
Nursing and Midwifery Bursary Scheme students are not included in the numbers receiving support from SAAS. Academic year 2006-07 is the latest for which data from SAAS is available.
In the response to your written question S3W-13913 on 17 June 2008 it was highlighted that the income thresholds for bursaries, loans and additional grants from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) are up rated on an annual basis based on the underlying rate of inflation (the Retail Price Index excluding Mortgage Interest Payments or RPIX). As set out in the answer to S3W-14480 on 17 July 2008, we currently have no plans to stop using this method to uprate the threshold on a yearly basis.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 17 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13913 by Fiona Hyslop on 17 June 2008, whether income thresholds for bursaries, loans and grants will continue to be uprated on an annual basis with the underlying rate of inflation given the planned SAAS Eligibility efficiency savings of over £12 million.
Answer
The Scottish Government has in the past raised the income thresholds for loans, bursaries and grants on an annual basis in line with the underlying rate of inflation (RPIX). We have no plans to move away from this practice and indeed the planned efficiency savings assume that thresholds for bursaries, loans and grants will continue to be uprated in this way each year.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 17 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13916 by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2008, whether the SAAS - Loans to Grants efficiency savings of £40 million will provide £40 million of additional funding to be spent by the government or whether £30 million of this is a reduction in the Student Loans New Lending budget line which is annual managed expenditure met in full by HM Treasury.
Answer
The £40 million efficiency savings are a result of a £30 million reduction in the Student Loans New Lending budget line, which is one of the Annually Managed Expenditure elements of the SAAS baseline. This reduction in the amount of loans advanced also generates a £10 million saving in the costs associated with not providing student loans which is within the Departmental Expenditure Limit allocation for SAAS.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 17 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how much research-related funding was provided to universities and colleges, broken down by institution, in each of the last three years.
Answer
The following table present details of research-related (including knowledge transfer) funding provided or channelled via the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to universities and colleges over the last three years. This mainly supports infrastructure and capacity building.
Research-related funding for Scottish institutions also comes from a number of other sources in the public, private and third sectors. For example, the seven UK Research Councils fund research in higher education institutions (HEIs). Research Council funding is not included in the table. Some Scottish Government Directorates also fund research directly, a small proportion of which ends up in HEIs. Not all of these figures are held centrally and they are therefore also not included in the table.
| Institution | Total Grants for Research 2005-06 | Total Grants for Research 2006-07 | Total Grants for Research 2007-08 |
| Aberdeen, University of | 15,218,714 | 21,742,872 | 24,008,926 |
| Abertay, Dundee, University of | 1,141,000 | 1,394,277 | 1,266,380 |
| Bell College | 137,000 | 167,000 | 130,000 |
| Dundee, University of | 17,622,433 | 21,190,318 | 26,446,462 |
| Edinburgh College of Art | 1,183,583 | 1,235,402 | 1,229,361 |
| Edinburgh, University of | 55,970,379 | 69,598,835 | 97,887,429 |
| Glasgow Caledonian University | 3,599,748 | 3,889,537 | 4,183,200 |
| Glasgow School of Art | 1,569,638 | 1,711,305 | 1,745,068 |
| Glasgow, University of | 42,860,217 | 49,970,786 | 55,252,327 |
| Heriot-Watt University | 11,001,684 | 12,755,383 | 14,319,765 |
| Napier University | 3,137,962 | 3,546,599 | 3,423,992 |
| Open University in Scotland | | 38,000 | 22,000 |
| Paisley, University of | 1,064,690 | 1,263,820 | 1,243,736 |
| Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh | 1,399,960 | 1,486,006 | 1,482,026 |
| Robert Gordon University | 2,097,102 | 2,356,287 | 2,493,450 |
| Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama | 108,000 | 127,220 | 122,361 |
| St Andrews, University of | 15,708,259 | 19,441,764 | 19,293,215 |
| Stirling, University of | 9,498,109 | 10,484,338 | 10,791,627 |
| Strathclyde, University of | 21,422,321 | 24,203,212 | 27,158,383 |
| UHI Millennium Institute | 1,551,451 | 3,055,388 | 2,546,358 |
| Aberdeen College | | | 44,750 |
| Adam Smith College | | | 44,750 |
| Angus College | | | 44,750 |
| Anniesland College | | | 44,750 |
| Ayr College | | | 44,750 |
| Banff & Buchan College | | | 44,750 |
| Barony College | | | 30,000 |
| Borders College | | | 30,000 |
| Cardonald College | | | 44,750 |
| Central College of Commerce | | | 44,750 |
| Clydebank College | | | 44,750 |
| Coatbridge College | | | 30,000 |
| Cumbernauld College | | | 44,750 |
| Dumfries & Galloway College | | | 30,000 |
| Dundee College | | | 44,750 |
| Edinburgh Telford College | | | 59,500 |
| Elmwood College | | | 44,750 |
| Forth Valley College | | | 44,750 |
| Glasgow Metropolitan | | | 44,750 |
| Glasgow College of Nautical Studies | | | 59,500 |
| Inverness College | | | 44,750 |
| James Watt College | | | 44,750 |
| Jewel & Esk Valley College | | | 44,750 |
| John Wheatley College | | | 30,000 |
| Kilmarnock College | | | 30,000 |
| Langside College | | | 44,750 |
| Lauder College | | | 59,500 |
| Lews Castle College | | | 44,750 |
| Moray College | | | 44,750 |
| Motherwell College | | | 44,750 |
| Newbattle Abbey College | | | 30,000 |
| North Glasgow College | | | 44,750 |
| Oatridge College | | | 30,000 |
| Perth College | | | 59,500 |
| Reid Kerr College | | | 59,500 |
| South Lanarkshire College | | | 44,750 |
| Stevenson College | | | 59,500 |
| Stow College | | | 30,000 |
| North Highland College | | | 44,750 |
| Orkney College | | | 30,000 |
| Shetland College | | | 30,000 |
| Sabal Mor Ostaig | | | 44,750 |
| West Lothian College | | | 44,750 |
| Total | 206,292,250 | 249,658,349 | 296,851,816 |
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 17 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how funding for research conducted in tertiary education is distributed and calculated.
Answer
The vast majority of Scottish Government funding for research (including knowledge transfer) in tertiary education is distributed and calculated by the Scottish Funding Council. The details of how this funding is distributed and calculated are set out in the Funding Council’s Circular SFC/10/2008 issued on 20 March “Main grants in support of teaching and research for higher education institutions for academic year 2008-09” available here:
http://www.sfc.ac.uk/information/info_circulars/sfc/2008/sfc1008/sfc1008.html.
Research-related funding for Scottish institutions also comes from a number of other sources in the public, private and third sectors. For example, the seven UK Research Councils fund research in higher education institutions (HEIs). Some Scottish Government Directorates also fund research directly, a small proportion of which ends up in HEIs.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 11 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how much student support it (a) provided in each of the last three years and (b) will provide over each of the next three years to (i) full-time undergraduate, (ii) part-time undergraduate, (ii) full-time postgraduate, (iii) part-time postgraduate and (iv) all students, also broken down by average amount per student.
Answer
The amount of student support provided to each of the four student groups and the average amount per student in the past three academic years was:
| Academic Year | 2004-05 |
| Level of Study | Mode of Study | Number of Students | Amount of Support (£000) | Average (mean) Support (£) |
| Undergraduate | Full-time | 115,445 | 397,630 | 3,444 |
| Part-time | 780 | 847 | 1,083 |
| All Undergraduates | 116,225 | 398,477 | 3,428 |
| Postgraduate | 4,290 | 18,991 | 4,429 |
| All Students | 120,525 | 417,511 | 3,464 |
| Academic Year | 2005-06 |
| Level of Study | Mode of Study | Number of Students | Amount of Support (£000) | Average (mean) Support (£) |
| Undergraduate | Full-time | 115,305 | 400,005 | 3,469 |
| Part-time | 835 | 876 | 1,050 |
| All Undergraduates | 116,140 | 400,881 | 3,452 |
| Postgraduate | 5,080 | 22,713 | 4,469 |
| All Students | 121,235 | 423,648 | 3,494 |
| Academic Year | 2006-07 |
| Level of Study | Mode of Study | Number of Students | Amount of Support (£000s) | Average (mean) Support (£) |
| Undergraduate | Full-time | 116,095 | 415,348 | 3,578 |
| Part-time | 795 | 858 | 1,082 |
| All Undergraduates | 116,890 | 416,206 | 3,561 |
| Postgraduate | 5,065 | 24,488 | 4,834 |
| All Students | 121,990 | 440,829 | 3,614 |
Source for all tables: Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)
All student numbers have been rounded to the nearest five. Monetary amounts are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
A full-time/part-time split is not available for postgraduate students.
Although the average support for part-time undergraduate students is around £1,100 in each year, the majority of such students (72-73%) receive £500 in financial support from SAAS. The average however includes the Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA) payable to some students.
“Support” refers to tuition fees (or tuition fee loans for those studying elsewhere in the UK) and/or awards and/or maintenance loans.
These tables do not include students on the Nursing and Midwifery Bursary Scheme. Academic year 2006-07 is latest for which data from SAAS is available.
Spending plans for the three financial years 2008-9 to 2010-11 are set out in the Scottish Budget Spending Review 2007, table 22.04 published on the internet at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/11/13092240/0.
The figures include the new support for part-time students to be introduced from autumn 2008 at a cost of £12/£13/£13 million for the three years of the plan. Projected spend is not disaggregated for the categories requested.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 10 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how much on average per student (a) further, (b) higher and (c) all tertiary education institutions (i) spent in each of the last three years and (ii) will spend in each of the next three years, also broken down by institution.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) does not publish spend per student by institution.
The SFC does publish performance indicators for colleges, which note colleges’ total income and a breakdown of this income and total expenditure. It also provides the actual Weighted Student Units of Measure (WSUMs) delivered, but not the number of students. WSUMs reflect the relative costs of delivering different subjects
The most recent performance indicators for colleges can be found at:
http://www.sfc.ac.uk/publications/FinPerfIndicators0405.pdf.
SFC does not publish any information on spend per student at higher education institutions (HEIs). The SFC’s teaching funding allocation method distributes funding according to Units of Teaching Resource, reflecting relative costs of delivering different subjects. There is no standard rate of per-student funding.
Indicative information on the number of funded places in HEIs, with per-subject and overall levels of funding can be found in Table A2a of the SFC’s Circular SFC/10/2008 (Main grants in support of teaching and research for higher education institutions for academic year 2008-09):
http://www.sfc.ac.uk/information/info_circulars/sfc/2008/sfc1008/sfc1008.html.
For both colleges and HEIs teaching funding is also provided on a full time equivalent (FTE) basis and institutions use this to fund both part-time and full-time provision.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 10 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it (a) provided in each of the last three years and (b) will provide over each of the next three years through the Scottish Funding Council for (i) full-time undergraduate, (ii) part-time undergraduate, (ii) full-time postgraduate, (iii) part-time postgraduate and (iv) all students, also broken down by average amount per student.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
The SFC does not publish any information on funding per student at higher education institutions (HEIs). The SFC’s teaching funding allocation method distributes funding according to Units of Teaching Resource, reflecting relative costs of delivering different subjects. There is no standard rate of per-student funding.
Indicative information on the number of funded places in HEIs, with per-subject and overall levels of funding can be found in table A2a of the SFC’s Circular SFC/10/2008 (Main grants in support of teaching and research for higher education institutions for academic year 2008-09):
http://www.sfc.ac.uk/information/info_circulars/sfc/2008/sfc1008/sfc1008.html.
While this shows the relative allocations to fund undergraduate and postgraduate provision, this is on a full-time equivalent basis and does not demonstrate how funding is allocated within individual institutions to support the range of full-time and part-time provision.
Additionally, the gross funding figures include the tuition fee element of funding which is not paid by SFC. We are unable to disaggregate this on a per student basis as different students pay different fees depending on their domicile.
