Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to respond to you.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to respond to you.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to respond to you.

Institutions of higher education must satisfy themselves of the accuracy and veracity of the residency claimed by an applicant in order to assess eligibility for regulated fee status. This can include, but is not limited to, confirming the address of the school attended by the applicant, the address registered with UCAS, the address to which any child benefit with respect to the applicant is registered and the address of the parental home.

Where supported fees are concerned, the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) must agree with an institutions assessment that a student has ‘home’ status before such fees are paid.

Our systems already guard against this. Purchasing or owning a home in Scotland does not in itself qualify an applicant for eligibility for regulated fee status and student support. An applicant must demonstrate that they meet all the relevant residency criteria which includes being ordinarily resident in Scotland.

The test that has to be met is whether the applicant is ordinarily resident in Scotland. In general terms, an applicant would not be considered ordinarily resident in a second home.

Scottish Government guidance on the Reshaping Care Change Fund for 2012-13, to be issued later this year, makes clear the expectation on Partnerships to increase the proportion of funding allocated to preventative and anticipatory care and proactive care and support at home.

Partnerships will be required to record this information, using Integrated Resource Framework mechanisms for analysing spend, activity and variation, in their Change Plans. Progress will be monitored over the whole course of the Change Fund lifecycle.

Based on local authorities’ own financial returns to the Scottish Government, they have estimated that 18 per cent of their net revenue income in 2011-12 will be raised from the council tax. This figure includes both anticipated council tax benefit funding and any community charge arrears expected to be collected in-year, but excludes the £70 million per annum the Scottish Government has provided to local authorities to compensate them for the income foregone in freezing the council tax at 2007-08 levels.

The Scottish Government has no plans to add to the scrutiny arrangements that already apply, including parliament’s role in the budget process and the significant amount of evidence it takes from third parties on the government’s spending proposals.

As in previous years, the Scottish Government has published a range of analytical information to assist the scrutiny process, including assessments of the equalities and carbon impacts of its spending plans.

Local Government and NHS board financial cycles are the same, running from April to March, with both preparing annual accounts for this financial cycle and adhering to the Scottish Government’s overarching financial timetable. The three year Spending Review announced in September 2011 provides additional financial clarity to local authorities and NHS boards for the next three years which should facilitate effective partnership working.