Parliamentary questions
Kezia Dugdale
1,684 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Aug 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost per pound has been of collecting student loan repayments via (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) other methods.
Answer · Michael Russell: This information is not held by the Scottish Government.
5 Aug 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average collection rate for student loans has been in each of the last three years from (a) UK residents and (b) people resident outside the UK.
Answer · Michael Russell: This information is not held by the Scottish Government. However, the Student Loans Company provide relevant information on their website: http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment.aspx.
5 Aug 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on any arrangements that make use of the tax system of another state to collect student loan repayments from former UK students.
Answer · Michael Russell: 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.
5 Aug 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any legal issues involved in any cross-border collection agreement relating to student loans.
Answer · Michael Russell: 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. However, we do not anticipate any particular legal issues arisi…
5 Aug 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that, in the event of independence, it would collect student loan repayments on behalf of the administrations of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Answer · Michael Russell: 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.
5 Aug 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether, in the event of independence, it expects HM Revenue and Customs to collect student loan repayments on behalf of the Scottish Government from Scottish graduates resident in the rest of the UK.
Answer · Michael Russell: 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.
5 Aug 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects an independent Scotland to operate a system of student loans and, if so, whether it plans to maintain the loans at around their current value.
Answer · Michael Russell: 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 …
5 Aug 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much debt the Student Loans Company has collected on behalf of the Scottish Government from people resident in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in each of the last three years and what percentage this represented of the total amount collected.
Answer · Michael Russell: With the other UK administrations, the Scottish Government is a shareholder in the Student Loans Company (SLC). The SLC does not manage repayment of student loan debt on behalf of the Scottish Government alone. The information requested on collection of stud…
4 Aug 2014 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report by Fiscal Affairs Scotland.
22 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many students from elsewhere in the UK have attended Scotland's universities in each year since 2007, and what percentage of the student population this represents.
Answer · Michael Russell: The total number of students from the rest of the UK (rUK) studying at Scottish higher education institutes (HEIs) is shown in the table below. RUK students account for around 12 per cent of the HEI student population in Scotland. Table 1: Students from the …
22 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial contribution students from elsewhere in the UK make to the budgets of Scotland's universities and what percentage of university budgets this represents.
Answer · Michael Russell: The most recent figures available from the Scottish Funding Council indicate that students from elsewhere in the UK contributed £38.2 million in tuition fees to Scottish universities in 2012-13. This represented 4.9% of income from tuition fees and education …
22 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether an independent Scotland charging students from elsewhere in the UK tuition fees would be discriminatory under EU law, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government believes that the unique and unprecedented position of an independent Scotland will enable us to establish an objective justification for our current policy approach to tuition fees which meets the requirements of the EU. The current …
22 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish details of any independent (a) legal and (b) other advice it has (i) requested and (ii) received on whether an independent Scotland could continue to charge students from elsewhere in the UK tuition fees.
Answer · Michael Russell: Scotland’s Future, including the proposition to continue to charge students from elsewhere in the UK tuition fees in an independent Scotland, is consistent with and informed by legal advice the government has received. The content of any legal advice is confi…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to achieve equality in outcome for looked-after students compared with all school leavers.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has, and continues to, take a range of actions to enable looked after children to improve outcomes, leaver destinations and attainment levels. In accordance with Getting it right for every child principles we continue to encourage high…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the reasons are for the lower percentage of positive destinations for looked-after children compared with all school leavers.
Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-22161 on 13 August 2014. 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/parliamentar…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the reasons are for the lower average tariff scores for looked-after children compared with all school leavers.
Answer · Michael Russell: The reasons for looked after children and young people experiencing poorer educational outcomes, lower levels of educational attainment and positive destinations are multiple and various. The 2007 report We Can and Must Do Better highlighted ‘‘continuity, st…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has allocated to tackling the level of student debt and what percentage of the education budget this represents.
Answer · Michael Russell: There is no specific ring fenced amount allocated to addressing debt accumulated by Scottish domiciled students. The overall student support package offered by the Scottish Government is geared towards providing a mixture of support through free tuition, bur…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to reduce the level of student debt.
Answer · Michael Russell: Scotland continues to have the lowest level of average debt per student. The Scottish figure of £7,600 compares with £20,100 for England, £17,310 for Wales and £16,820 for Northern Ireland. The Scottish Government aims to contribute to maintenance of this by…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the reasons are for the reported increasing level of student debt.
Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-22157 on 13 August 2014. 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/parliamentar…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons there was a 58% increase in lending to Scotland-domiciled students by the Student Loans Company in 2013-14.
Answer · Michael Russell: A new student support package was introduced for academic year 2013-14. Implementation of the revised package received praise from NUS Scotland. The new system included an annual minimum income of £7,250, through a combination of bursaries and loans, for stud…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce recommends widening access for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Answer · Michael Russell: The final report of the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce, Education Working For All! was published on 3 June 2014. The report makes a number of recommendations designed to provide earlier opportunities for young people from all backgrounds…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to produce a report on the progress made by high-attaining children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government supports a number of activities which provide information on high-attaining children from disadvantaged backgrounds: The Scottish Government funds Growing Up in Scotland, a study which contains a wealth of longitudinal data which allo…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to encourage students from the most deprived backgrounds to study at Scotland’s ancient universities.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Post-16 Education (Scotland) Act 2013 introduced statutory widening access agreements as part of the wider outcome agreement dialogue between the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and each higher education institution in Scotland. A university outcome agree…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the students from the most deprived areas in the country at Scotland’s ancient universities has dropped out of higher education in the last five years.
Answer · Michael Russell: Figures from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) show that the proportions of Scottish domiciled, full time undergraduate first degree students from the 40% most deprived data zones, as ranked by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, who did not continue…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many students at Scotland’s ancient universities are from the most deprived areas of Scotland.
Answer · Michael Russell: Figures from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) indicate that in 2012-13, the most recent year for which information is available; there were 4,904 students at Scotland’s four ancient universities from the 40% most deprived data zones in Scotland, as ranked i…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to increase the attainment levels of students from the most deprived backgrounds.
Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-22149 on 13 August 2014. 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/parliamentar…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to tackling educational inequality and what percentage of the education budget this represents.
Answer · Michael Russell: Tackling educational inequality is an agreed priority for all education partners, so our collective financial resources should be allocated to support that. The majority of education funding flows through local government. For 2013-14 Scotland’s local authori…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) policies and (b) programmes it has introduced to address educational inequality.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government and all its partners have a strong shared commitment to raising attainment for all and closing the attainment gap between children and young people who are most and least advantaged. This commitment to improvement and equity in attainm…
16 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the causes of educational inequality are.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government and all its partners have a strong shared commitment to raising attainment for all and closing the attainment gap between children and young people who are most and least advantaged. The causes of educational inequality are complex an…
8 Jul 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to legislate or review the law on "in perpetuity" clauses.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: We have no current intention of legislating on or reviewing the law in this area. I understand that the member is interested in “in perpetuity” clauses in timeshare contracts. Legislation on timeshare is a reserved matter (see Head C7 of Part II of Schedule 5…