Education, Children and Young People Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Official Report 529KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Education (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (SSI 2022/156)

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Student Support (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (SSI 2022/157)

Our next item of business is the consideration of two pieces of subordinate legislation that are subject to the negative procedure: SSI 2022/156 and SSI 2022/157. Does anyone have any comments to make on SSI 2022/156?

Yes. I have a constituency case involving a Ukrainian student who is living here. They have been taken in by a family in North East Fife, but they are studying in Ukraine. They cannot receive any universal credit support because they are classed as a student, and they cannot receive any student support because they are studying in a Ukrainian university.

On the back of the statutory instrument before us, I am keen that we write to the relevant ministers in the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments to ask them to sort out the situation and make up their minds. Are such people students or are they ordinary citizens? One way or the other, they should get some support. I do not mind which kind of support they get, as long as they get something, because we need to provide proper hospitality for them.

Thank you, Mr Rennie. Does anyone else have any comments? It seems not.

Does the committee agree to take up Mr Rennie’s suggestion that we write to both Governments in an attempt to find a solution for such people?

Members indicated agreement.

Do members have any comments to make on SSI 2022/157? It appears that they do not, which is fine.

Does the committee agree that it does not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

That concludes the public part of today’s meeting. We will consider our final agenda item in private. I ask members who are attending virtually to reconvene on Microsoft Teams in a few minutes.

10:59 Meeting continued in private until 12:07.