Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has worked with Edinburgh University on the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime since 1998, including providing some funding to support analysis and reporting. More recently, we are engaging with the university to attempt to gain a better understanding of the educational attainment and outcomes of that cohort of young people and we will continue to work to develop this in the forthcoming year.

A new student support package was introduced for academic year 2013-14. The new package included an annual minimum income of £7,250, through a combination of bursaries and loans, for students with a family income of less than £17,000 and a revised minimum student loan amount for all eligible students. Expansion in the amount of money available to all students through loan resulted in an increase in overall lending during the first year of operation.

In 2014-15, the minimum loan amount has increased by a further £250. Factors such as increase or decrease in loan uptake and/or increase in student numbers make it difficult to provide exact figures on future total lending.

NHS Lothian has never ran an immunology service directly, with services being provided by the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS). The board has advised that it intends to transfer all services from SNBTS over the next few months, subject to successful recruitment of a consultant immunologist and a Clinical Lead for the laboratory.

Using information from the Student Awards Agency Scotland and the School Leaver Destination Returns report, Skills Development Scotland can identify those who are no longer receiving student support but have not completed their degree. Leavers are also tracked by the universities themselves.

In the 2015-16 letter of guidance to the Scottish Funding Council, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning emphasised the importance of retention and the need to ensure that the higher education sector makes more effective use of data to track student progress.

Information on the number of patients with primary immune deficiency expected to travel to Newcastle is not held centrally, however one young adult patient has been reviewed by the paediatric immunology team at Newcastle.

Information on the number of children registered with local authorities to receive their early learning and childcare entitlement is published annually in December.

We expect all local authorities to have enough places available, either in council nurseries or with partner providers, to accommodate the estimated number of children who will take up their early learning and childcare entitlement in the new school term.

Should the people of Scotland vote for independence, the collection of student loan repayments is a matter that will form part of transitional discussions between the Scottish and UK governments.

The current Scottish Government supports students by providing free tuition and ensuring that any debt accrued for living costs is sustainable. Aside from free tuition, eligible Scottish domiciled students can access a support package featuring bursaries and loans. The ability to access a student loan provides choice in how living costs are met. This Scottish Government would intend to continue with the existing student support package after independence.

Should the people of Scotland vote for independence, the collection of student loan repayments is a matter that will form part of transitional discussions between the Scottish and UK governments.