Chamber and committees

Scottish Government policy states that it is essential that young people have access to sexual health services, advice and information when they require it. It does not prescribe the format that these services should take or whether these services should be provided in a clinical or non-clinical setting.

The decision on how sexual health services are provided and the most appropriate setting for young people to access these services is a decision for NHS boards and local authorities based on local requirements and following scoping of local needs.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18941 on 8 January 2014. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Education Scotland has policy responsibility for adult learning. This includes the Adult Literacies in Scotland 2020 Strategic Guidance and the strategy for English for Speakers of Other Languages. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has recently established and chairs a national strategic forum for adult learning. The forum is currently working with partners to develop a statement of ambition for adult learning in Scotland. Education Scotland’s Community Learning and Development team supports the forum and leads a range of initiatives to help improve life chances for people of all ages, through learning, personal development and active citizenship. The team links with national partners through nine strategic funding partnerships and administers small grants to a range of adult learning providers to directly enhance learning opportunities across the country.

Education Scotland, through the Senior Education Officer (SEO) team, has opened up a dialogue with the Open University (OU) in relation to massive open online courses (MOOCS).

They are exploring how we can promote the Young Applicants in Schools scheme, which involves young people in schools following OU courses which are largely online.

SEOs are meeting with Open University representatives in January 2014 to further explore the development and use of MOOCs in Science.

Discussions are also taking place with the OU around how best to ensure uptake of future learn courses by practitioners and pupils and how to make use of OpenLearn materials.

The minutes of the meeting of the Council of Economic Advisers on 30 August 2013, where the issue of the economic and social impacts of improving childcare provision in Scotland was discussed, are available on the Scottish Government’s website at the following address:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/Council-Economic-Advisers/Meetings

The analysis informing the Council of Economic Advisers’ deliberations will be reflected in the annual chair’s report of the Council of Economic Advisers. It is anticipated that the chair’s report will be published in Spring 2014.

The average loan authorised by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland for young students with a household income below £30,000 was £3,425 in the academic year 2012-13.

It is not possible to include students ‘exempt from contributions’ as they are considered ‘independent’ and not ‘young’ for the purposes of student support.

The details in the following table show the amount of loans paid by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland to meet the cost of tuition fees in other parts of the UK:

(Source: The Student Awards Agency for Scotland)

Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) operates separate support schemes for students in full time higher education and those in part-time education. Different funding arrangements apply.

a) SAAS only hold information on the total number of independent full-time students. It is not possible to identify the total number of independent part-time students.

b) In 2012-13, 7410 full-time students at a further education college were funded by SAAS that were classed as ‘independent’.

The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) already provided this information to Ms Dugdale on 9 September 2013, following a Freedom of Information request.

Here is the original email sent to students in August 2012.

‘The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has announced a new funding package for living costs which will apply to Scottish domiciled undergraduate students, studying a course of higher education within the UK in academic year 2013-2014 onwards. The full statement can be found here (link to press release).

Details of the new funding package are available at:

http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/funding_update.htm (web page no longer available)

Please note that these changes apply to both new and continuing students from academic year 2013-2014 onwards, regardless of when you start your course. Students in attendance this year (autumn 2012) will receive the existing funding package for academic year 2012-2013. If you have already received your SAAS award notice for academic year 2012-2013, there will be no change to the amounts shown on this letter. The new funding package will then apply to all undergraduate students from academic year 2013-2014 (autumn 2013) onwards.

If you have any queries relating to this announcement, please call our contact centre on 0300 555 0505’.

Additional support was last made available to students studying in London in 2012-13.

a) The maximum support for students studying a 30 week course in London was £6,690. This was £1120 higher than students studying a 30 week course elsewhere.

Courses longer than 30 weeks in London attracted additional support of £109 per week. This was £24 higher than the additional support for a course elsewhere.

b) It is not possible to identify the total amount of additional support awarded in 2012-13 to students studying in London.