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-12685

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students will benefit from changes to the eligibility for the young students bursary from the 2008-09 academic year, including those under the age of 25 and with a child over three, and by how much in total.

It is only those students under the age of 25 and with a child over three who will benefit from changes to the eligibility for the Young Students'' Bursary from the 2008-09 academic year. I refer the member to the question S3W-10207 answered on 3 March 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.

Question reference: S3W-12691

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £12 million per annum to alleviate student hardship referred, to by the First Minister on 24 April 2008 (Official Report, c. 7933), is (a) additional funding and (b) time-limited.

The £12 million to which the First Minister referred on 24 April are the Discretionary Funds. These monies are made available by Scottish ministers and are intended to provide non-repayable assistance for students in financial difficulties in order for them to access and/or continue in higher education. This is not an additional package of funding but has been in place for several years. This funding is not time-limited.

Question reference: S3W-12692

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide further details of the (a) £30 million available for 2010-11 to support students further and (b) consultation that is taking place, referred to by the First Minister on 24 April 2008 (Official Report, c. 7933).

Question reference: S3W-12689

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline further details of its increasing the threshold for the non-medical personal helpers element of the disabled students allowance by 60%, referred to by the First Minister on 24 April 2008 (Official Report, c. 7933), showing how much additional funding will be provided to students through this change and how many students will benefit.

Further details on the non-medical personal helpers element of the disabled students allowance can be found on SAAS'' website at:

http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/special_circumstances/dsa_what_we_pay.htm.

In terms of the increase, the upper threshold for the non-medical personal helpers element of the Disabled Students'' Allowance (DSA) will from academic year 2008-09 rise from £12,420 to £20,000. In terms of numbers of students who will stand to benefit, last year there were around 39 students who reached the maximum threshold for non-medical personal help. The number of students who will benefit from the increased threshold in 2008-09 will be dependent on their assessed needs when they apply to SAAS for student support.

Question reference: S3W-12683

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people will be affected by changes to the means test for higher education students from the 2008-09 academic year and how much the Scottish Government will save in total (a) annually and (b) over the next three years.

The number of people affected by changes to the means test for higher education students is unknown as the information on which this calculation needs to be made was not recorded by the previous Scottish Executive. I have therefore asked SAAS to record this data from 2008-09 onwards and my officials will closely monitor the numbers affected by these changes.

The changes to the means test are not intended to generate savings. They are intended to bring about a fairer system of student support for all our students. If any savings were to accrue from these changes, however, this money will be redistributed within the general student support system.

Question reference: S3W-12681

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether students' earned income will be assessed for providing support for (a) further and (b) higher education in the 2008-09 academic year and, if so, over what threshold.

Question reference: S3W-12682

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people will benefit from changes to dependents grant eligibility from the 2008-09 academic year and by how much in total.

Question reference: S3W-12677

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average earnings are of working students (a) exempt and (b) not exempt from council tax.

Question reference: S3W-12676

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students did not take out loans to pay for the graduate endowment in each of the last three academic years, broken down by household income.

The following table shows the number of students who have chosen to pay their full graduate endowment in cash in each of the last three years.

Decided to Pay Graduate Endowment in Full by Cash

April 2005 Liability	April 2006 Liability	April 2007 Liability	Total
255	2,690	3,565	6,515

Data source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) as at 30 April 2008.

Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.

The figures shown in the table are provisional and subject to change as cases are processed. They do not include students who were liable for the graduate endowment as of April 2007 or earlier but have had their liability deferred whilst they undertake postgraduate study. Those who are currently in debt recovery, who have had their debt written off or who have chosen to pay part in cash part by loan are also excluded.

Graduates who choose to pay their graduate endowment in full by cash are not required to give details of their household income therefore it is not possible to provide an income breakdown of the table.

Question reference: S3W-12686

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional funding has been provided to ensure that continuing students do not face reduced financial support following changes to the means test for higher education students from the 2008-09 academic year; when such funding will be provided and how it will be distributed.