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: S4W-19047

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17799 by Michael Russell on 8 November 2013, for what reason it used figures for end-of-course debt for previous years in England and Wales to inform its assessment of the impact on low-income students of changes coming into effect in Scotland in 2013-14.

Question reference: S4W-19043

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17799 by Michael Russell on 8 November 2013, whether the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning was aware on 22 August 2012 that a young student with a residual household income of £18,000 would receive over £1,600 less in bursary each year as a result of the changes announced on that date.

Question reference: S4W-19051

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18332 by Michael Russell on 28 November 2013, what estimates for the value of non-repayable forms of higher education student support, including bursaries, were used to inform the figures for (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 in the “Student Support and Tuition Fee Payments” line in Table 5.07 in the draft Scottish budget 2014-15.

Question reference: S4W-19046

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17799 by Michael Russell on 8 November 2013, whether the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning was aware that the figures published by the Student Loans Company quoted in the answer were for the average final debt of students who had completed their higher education in different parts of the UK in the year prior to April 2013.

Question reference: S4W-19052

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17797 by Michael Russell on 8 November 2013, whether it will provide figures for the value of the total maintenance package provided in 2013-14 for students living away from home (but not in London) from (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales at residual incomes of (i) £17,000, (ii) £20,000 and (iii) incomes in increments of £5,000 thereafter up to and including £50,000.

The following tables provide the maintenance package available to dependent and independent students in Scotland in 2013-14, who are living away from home.

Dependent students:

Household income	Bursary	Loan	Total
£0 to £16,999	£1,750	£5,500	£7,250
£17,000 to £23,999	£1,000	£5,500	£6,500
£24,000 to £33,999	£500	£5,500	£6,000
£34,000 and above	£0	£4,500	£4,500

Independent students

Household income	Bursary	Loan	Total
£0 to £16,999	£750	£6,500	£7,250
£17,000 to £23,999	£0	£6,500	£6,500
£24,000 to £33,999	£0	£6,000	£6,000
£34,000 and above	£0	£4,500	£4,500

We do not hold information on support available to students from elsewhere in the UK. From academic year 2013-14, support is assessed using household income bandings in the tables above. It is no longer assessed on income increments

Question reference: S4W-19121

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it gives colleges regarding paid board memberships.

Question reference: S4W-19120

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the governance structure is of each college and who the (a) chair is and (b) board members are.

The governance arrangements of colleges differ depending on their legal status.

Further information about the different status and arrangements is set out in the draft summary guide College Reforms and the Post-16 Education (Scotland) Act 2013, available on the Scottish Government’s website.

All colleges should list their chair and board members on their website. However, a key part of our college reforms are new and more rigorous arrangements for making appointments to the position of regional college and regional board chairs. These posts are regulated public appointments. This appointment process is underway and should conclude next month.

Question reference: S4W-19042

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17799 by Michael Russell on 8 November 2013, whether the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning was aware on 22 August 2012 that a young student with a residual household income of £15,000 would receive almost £900 less in bursary each year as a result of the changes announced on that date.

A key aim of the Post 16 Education Reform Programme was to simplify the main student support system. Analysis of the impact of changes announced on 22 August 2012 was geared to ensuring maximum benefit for all undergraduate students.

Introduction of the new support package in 2013, means that undergraduate students benefit from access to increased financial support. An annual minimum income of £7,250 is now guaranteed for students with a family income of less than £17,000.

Question reference: S4W-19049

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17799 by Michael Russell on 8 November 2013, what the (a) lowest and (b) highest amount of student loan available was in 2012-13 for a young student living (i) away from home and (ii) in the family home with a household income below £30,000.

The new simplified student support package replaced a more complex system in operation prior to 2013. Under the previous system, a number of factors determined loan entitlement, these included: Household Income, the length of the course, where the student lived while studying, the year of the course (the final year loan was at a lower level) and if other members of the family were in higher or further education.

As a result, there was no typical amount of loan that young students from a household with an income of under £30,000 would be entitled to. For illustrative purposes, assuming a household income of £25,000 the amount of loan available to a young student for a standard 30 week course in 2012-13 would have been:

Living away from home: £940 the lowest loan and £3813 the highest loan.

At home: £620 lowest loan and £2828 highest loan.

Question reference: S4W-19054

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17797 by Michael Russell on 8 November 2013, whether it remains its position, as noted in Supporting a Smarter Scotland: A consultation on supporting learners in higher education, that “younger students staying in the parental home tended to have the lowest incomes and expenditure” compared with those who live away from home.

The Scottish Government recognises the diversity in the circumstances of students. A key aim of the Post 16 Education Reform Programme is to simplify the main student support system whilst ensuring maximum benefit for all students.

On top of important benefits such as free tuition, the new package includes an annual minimum income of £7,250, through a combination of bursaries and loans, for students with a family income of less than £17,000. All students, irrespective of circumstances, are eligible for a student loan of £4,500 a year.