Chamber and committees

The budget assumes that the student population is maintained at current levels.

The Scottish Government launched a consultation on the Review of Disabled Students’ Allowance which closed on 30 September 2013. It is currently considering the responses and will publish its response imminently.

The Students Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) paid Disabled Students Allowance for travel costs only to 16 students in 2012-13. SAAS do not hold this information for 2011-12.

The release makes clear the new colleges are of considerable scale and ambition, responsible for meeting the needs of learners and employers in their region. We expect regional curricula to align to industry needs and to provide enhanced opportunities for learners to develop the skills employers need.

That, in turn, will improve productivity, support growth and boost employment.

In 2012-13 there were 4,376 students not in receipt of a bursary in the household income brackets of £0 - £35,000. The main reason for this is due to previous study rules. Students who may have been repeating a year on academic grounds and those that were undertaking second degrees were not eligible for bursary or tuition fee support. However, they could apply for student loans so provided their household income details to SAAS.

The average tuition fee payment per year can be found at Table 1 of The Statistics Publication Notice Higher Education Student Support in Scotland 2012-13. Table 1 can be accessed at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/10/1120/6.

The tuition fee level for 2014-15 has yet to be agreed.

In 2012-13, some categories of independent student were eligible to receive a young student bursary. These were:

students under 25 with a child;

students permanently estranged from their parents;

students who turn 25 during their course;

young students who married or moved in with a partner during their course;

young orphaned students.

It is not possible to identify the number of students that fall into all these categories.

The Students Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) spent £573,852 on travel costs through Disabled Students Allowance in 2012-13. This represents 194 students. SAAS do not hold the equivalent information for 2011-12 and it is not possible, from the information held, to identify how much of this would previously have been met through the travel expenses grant.