Chamber and committees

I have instructed the operating company, BEAR Scotland Ltd, to undertake this study, which will include consultation with the Glenrothes Area Futures Group. I expect the report to be concluded by mid-January 2009. In addition, the study will also consider the Balfarg junction.

Improvements have already been carried out at these junctions and a feasibility study looking at the provision of traffic signals at Cadham is nearing completion. I have also asked my officials to consider further possible low cost improvements in the vicinity of the Cadham and Tullis Russell junctions.

There are various methods to calculate what percentage of GDP is invested in universities and in particular how public and private spending is defined and what is included in the calculation. This means that results may differ and will not be directly comparable with other countries. My officials are in discussions with the Scottish Funding Council and Universities Scotland regarding this matter.

Using the latest data available, figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that higher education institutions (HEIs) in Scotland received monies from all sources totalling £2.26 billion in 2006-07. This was split by government-related funding of £1.47 billion, and other funding of £0.79 billion.

According to the Office for National Statistics, Scottish GDP (GVA at basic prices) in 2006 totalled £91.0 billion. Therefore, spending on this basis on Scottish HEIs was 2.50 per cent of GDP.

OECD data on a comparable basis are not currently available as their method for categorising different types of post-compulsory education is different to that used in Scotland. In addition, the methodology adopted by the OECD is unclear in terms of what they include as investment and how this is split between public and non-public.

Using the same HESA data, Scotland compares favourably on a UK basis, with England, Wales and Northern Ireland spending less as a proportion of GDP at 1.8 per cent, 2.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively. The data show that the comparable UK rate is 1.9 per cent.

Each year the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publish international indicators on participation rates in tertiary education (degree level and above) in their publication Education at a Glance. The most recent figures, published in September 2007, relate to the academic year 2004-05.

These figures show the lowest participation rate within the top quartile belongs to Iceland at 74%; therefore the participation rate for Scotland would need to be 74% to place Scotland in the top quartile. For the academic year 2004-05 the participation rate for Scotland was 56%.

Assuming that the participation rate of all member countries remains the same the number of entrants to Scottish institutions would need to rise to 55,440 in 2008 and 50,165 in 2028 (increases of 14,180 and 8,905 respectively compared to  2004-05). The decreased figure for 2028 compared to 2008 is due to a projected decline in the Scottish population.

Sources: General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) does not regulate autonomous higher education institutions (HEIs). Rather, the SFC sets out its formal relationship with institutions through its Financial Memorandum.

Amongst the SFC''s roles, as set out in the memorandum, is the duty to monitor, evaluate and ensure accountability for the public funds distributed to universities.

The memorandum sets out the requirements which are a condition of the SFC''s funding. It also sets out the agreed expectations which the institution has a right to have of the SFC. Full details of the memorandum can be found on the SFC''s website:

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/information/information_gmap/financial_memorandum_jan_06.html.

The following table shows higher education students who are receiving support, other than non-means tested maintenance loan, tuition fees or tuition fee loans, from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) and the amount of such support received broken down by parental/spousal income for academic years 2004-05 to 2006-07.

Academic Year	2004-05		2005-06		2006-07
	Number of Students	Amount Support (£000)	Number of Students	Amount Support (£000)	Number of Students	Amount Support (£000)
Income not declared/required	3,950	13,053	4,075	13,577	3,960	13,416
< £10k	11,975	40,462	11,560	40,057	11,030	39,052
£10,000 - £19,999	14,195	44,592	13,990	46,801	13,575	47,083
£20,000 - £29,999	12,855	31,898	12,520	32,658	11,945	32,328
£30,000 - £39,999	10,120	17,900	9,700	18,350	9,365	18,607
£40,000 - £49,999	5,855	6,425	6,370	7,594	6,365	8,013
£50,000 - £59,999	1,345	1,578	1,510	1,791	1,755	1,975
£60,000 - £69,999	450	392	580	541	685	701
£70,000 - £79,999	125	122	125	102	175	140
£80,000 - £89,999	30	23	45	34	55	56
£90,000 - £99,998	15	17	20	21	40	51
£99,999 and above	40	68	50	70	55	65
Exempt from parental/spousal contribution	16,640	61,634	16,455	63,101	16,325	64,239
Total	77,600	218,162	77,000	224,696	75,330	225,726

Source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).

Note: Student numbers have been rounded to the nearest five and monetary amounts to the nearest thousand.

Students are included in this table if the receive support in the form of awards and/or means tested maintenance loans. Income bands are based on residual parental or, in the case of students who are married or in a civil partnership, spousal income. This is income after deductions allowed by SAAS have been subtracted.

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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15194 on 15 August 2008. It has been assumed information is being requested on the public funding of higher education.

(a) The resources provided through the Scottish Funding Council for higher education over the last three years in terms of the Spending Review 2004 settlement were:

2005-06: £853,000,000

2006-07: £958,000,000

2007-08: £1,028,000,000.

(b) The equivalent resources over the next three years in terms of the Spending Review 2007 settlement are:

2008-09: £1,036,000,000

2009-10: £1,082,000,000

2010-11: £1,126,000,000

(i) Details of student numbers for the period requested are only currently available up to 2006-07. Information on student numbers for 2005-06 and 2006-07 can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Lifelong-learning/TrendHEStudents.

(ii) Projected details of student numbers are not held centrally.

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.

The following table shows the number of Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) supported Scottish students receiving some form of support other than  non-means tested loans or tuition fees (or tuition fee loans if they are studying elsewhere in the UK) broken down by parental/spousal income for academic year 2006-07. The table also shows how this data would look if average earnings rose by 3.1% (figure based on growth in average median weekly earnings in the year to April 2007) and income thresholds for means tested maintenance loans for academic years 2007-08 and 2008-09 are applied. Income thresholds for academic year 2009-10 are yet to be determined.

	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09
Income not declared/required	3,955	3,955	3,955
< £10,000	11,030	10,660	10,180
£10,000 - £19,999	13,575	13,230	13,025
£20,000 - £29,999	11,945	11,650	11,095
£30,000 - £39,999	9,365	9,445	9,750
£40,000 - £49,999	6,365	6,375	6,795
£50,000 - £59,999	1,755	1,990	2,185
£60,000 - £69,999	685	750	810
£70,000 - £79,999	175	260	345
£80,000 - £89,999	55	60	70
£90,000 - £99,998	40	40	45
£99,999 and above	55	70	80
Exempt from parental/spousal contribution	16,325	16,325	16,325
Total	75,330	74,820	74,665

Source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland (2006-07 data), Scottish Government analysis (2007-08, 2008-09 data).

Note: Student numbers have been rounded to the nearest five.

Some students on relatively high incomes i.e. above the standard thresholds remain in the table because they are receiving the non-means tested Disabled Student’s Allowance or due to some special circumstances (e.g. study abroad) which means that they receive support where in most cases a student would not.

Income thresholds for means tested loans depend on many individual circumstances including location of study, duration of course, whether a student is in their final year and when they entered higher education. The above calculations take account of the income thresholds that apply to the majority of students, i.e. Scottish students living at home or elsewhere who are on standard degree courses (30 weeks) and are not in their final year. Constant student numbers are assumed i.e. the same students applied in 2007-08 and only their incomes and the thresholds for means tested loans changed.

The latest year for which data are available for students receiving some form of support is for 2006-07. Similarly, 2006-07 is the latest year for which data are available for average earnings.

Students on the Nursing and Midwifery Bursary Scheme are not included in the table.

The interim report of the Joint Futures Thinking Taskforce on Universities recognises there are a number of factors which contribute to keeping universities nationally and internationally competitive. While public resource is one, this includes not just funding from the Scottish Government but also, for example, grants from Research Councils. In addition, many of our institutions attract funding from private sources. This dual support model was highlighted as a strength in the interim report. In the future, the proposed Tripartite Advisory Group will play a key role in advising the Scottish Government on public resources.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14243 on 10 July 2008. 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.