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: S3W-15190

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of GDP Scotland would have to invest in universities to place it in the top decile internationally for national investment in research, development and innovation, as outlined as a challenge in New Horizons: responding to the challenges of the 21st century, the interim report of the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities, and how much this represents in cash terms at 2008 prices.

International comparable data on higher education expenditure on research and development (HERD) are only available for the 30 OECD countries. The latest available figures relate to 2005.

Scottish HERD in 2005 was £688,000, which was 0.7% of GDP and second only to Sweden in terms of percentage of GDP. With only 30 countries having comparable data, very small changes in expenditure could lead to major annual shifts between deciles. However, this places Scotland’s HERD as a percentage of GDP in the top decile of OECD countries.

Question reference: S3W-15201

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what funds it has assigned to independently research whether universities’ publicly-funded activity makes a significant contribution to achieving the Scottish Government’s Purpose, as referred to in New Horizons: responding to the challenges of the 21st century, the interim report of the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities.

Question reference: S3W-15198

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has plans to offer staff or student representatives a place on the tripartite advisory group announced in New Horizons: responding to the challenges of the 21st century, the interim report of the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15197 on 14 August 2008. The Taskforce has agreed to establish a tripartite advisory group comprising representatives from the government, universities and the funding council to provide advice on the proposed new funding arrangements as set out in the interim report, New Horizons. 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.

Staff and student representatives have a number of mechanisms and opportunities to provide advice to this government on higher education, such as the FE/HE Roundtable. We have also held two student summits to discuss a range of higher education issues.

Over the summer, staff and student representatives and other stakeholders are being actively encouraged to contribute to the discussion of New Horizons before the taskforce meets again in September and considers how best to respond.

Question reference: S3W-15197

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive who will be represented on the tripartite advisory group announced in New Horizons: responding to the challenges of the 21st century, the interim report of the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities, and how those people will be chosen and appointed.

The taskforce members agreed that the tripartite advisory group will comprise representatives from the government, universities and the funding council. The taskforce did not prescribe how the individual members of the group would be chosen and appointed.

Over the summer, stakeholders are being actively encouraged to contribute to the discussion of New Horizons before the taskforce meets again in September and considers how best to respond.

Question reference: S3W-15199

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2008
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.

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.

Question reference: S3W-14484

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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

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.

Question reference: S3W-14482

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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%.

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.

Question reference: S3W-14477

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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.

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.

Question reference: S3W-14479

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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.

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.

Question reference: S3W-14480

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2008
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.