Questions and answers

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 ��˿�� 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-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-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-12687

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 publicity it has provided for its changes to the means test for higher education students from the 2008-09 academic year.

The Scottish Government has publicised details of the changes to the means test for higher education in a number of ways. These include:

Full details of the changes are set out on the Scottish Government''s website with an accompanying press release, dated 15 February 2008:

The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) has also set out the changes in the administrators'' section and the main student section of their website at

Details of the changes can also be found in the Notes section of the SAS3 application for support in 2008-09 as well as the SAS4 guide which is issued by SAAS to every student on receipt of their application for support.

In February this year, SAAS wrote to all continuing students, their parents and spouses outlining details of the revised income assessment as well as all colleges, universities, Association of Scotland''s Colleges, Universities Scotland and the National Union of Students.

SAAS also carried out two workshops for colleges and universities earlier this year and have taken part in approximately 90 open days to schools, colleges and universities between October last year to date.

Publicity will continue throughout the rest of this year in the run up to the new academic session in 2008-09. We plan to carry on the dissemination process at (approximately) another 80 events up to the end of September, including the UK National Association of Student Money Advisors event in July.

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.

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-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-12684

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 it will spend any savings from changes to the means test from the 2008-09 academic year for higher education students.

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-12330

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what extra funding will be provided for any increase in the use of community sentence orders over the next three years, broken down by local authority area.

The report of the review of community penalties published last November set out a plan of action, which is designed to lead to greater and improved use of community sentences. Work is in progress to take forward the report. The following additional sums have been set aside to implement the report''s recommendations:

2008-09	£2.0 million
2009-10	£3.5 million
2010-11	£3.5 million

The majority of the £2 million available this financial year is reflected in the current 2008-09 financial allocations for community justice authorities. The latter will be informed of financial allocations for subsequent years at the appropriate stage. Community justice authorities are responsible for disbursement of available funding to the constituent local authorities within their areas.

Question reference: S3W-12098

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned or will commission any independent research into the welfare impacts of snaring, as recommended in 2005 in the Report of the Independent Working Group on Snares.