WIREDGOV

Up to 75,900 students, or 68 per cent of the eligible student population in Scotland, will see their income increase in the next academic year, under new measures announced today by the Scottish Government.

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop, announced that the Scottish Government is to use the £30 million - set aside as part of the spending review for improved student support - to focus on increasing the income of the poorest students during the recession, including:

• Providing £2 million to increase the funds available to students with additional childcare costs, given the additional financial pressures they face
• Creating, for the first time, a grant for independent students, benefitting an estimated 14,000 students of all ages, who were previously solely reliant on loans

The Scottish Government also plans to:

• Increase grants for the poorest students receiving the Young Students' Bursary, potentially benefitting 40,700 students aged between 16 and 25
• Increase the maximum level of the income-assessed student loan, which currently attract interest rates of zero per cent, by £442, benefitting 75,900 students and reducing their reliance on higher cost commercial loans

Today's measures have been informed by the Scottish Government's consultation 'Supporting a Smarter Scotland', surveys on student finance and discussions with the main opposition parties and the National Union of Students in Scotland. In line with that spirit of co-operation, Ms Hyslop is to meet opposition parties and student representatives during the next two weeks to agree the final level of increase in the grants for young students and the level of grant for independent students, as set out in the consultation response document, published today.

Ms Hyslop said:

"We recognise the pressures on students during the current economic climate, including the fact that it is now more difficult for them to find part-time work.

"That's why we have already introduced a raft of measures to improve support for students in Scotland from, allocating £38 million to replace loans with grants for 20,000 part-time students a year to increasing hardship funds from the £14.04 million we inherited to £16.44 million this year - a rise of more than 17 per cent. The abolition of the graduate endowment fee is also benefitting more than 50,000 graduates and students by more than £2,000.

"Today's measures will help us build on that and increase the income of around 75,900 students across Scotland in the next academic year, particularly those in greatest need such as students with children and independent students who don't receive any parental help. They have been put together following our consultation and will ensure that, despite the financial constraints now facing us, we are able to ease some of the pressures on students at this difficult time."

The document proposes three possible levels of increase in the grant for young students, of either £360, £430 or £500 a year and three possible levels of grant for independent students of up to £1000, £825 or £650. Clearly setting a maximum increase or level for one, has implications for the budget available for the other. The Scottish Government will announce the final amounts for each within the next few months, along with details of how the £2 million for childcare will be allocated, following the conclusion of its discussion with opposition members and NUS Scotland.

In addition to the responses to the consultation responses, the Scottish Government also looked closely at the findings of the Student Income and Expenditure survey for 2007-08, published on June 24, which provided evidence that mature students were more likely to be in higher levels of study-related debt - £4,208, compared to £1,316 for 16 to 20 year-olds - and that they had higher levels of commercial debt - £4040 compared to £374 for young students -at the point in their academic career when the study was conducted.

The Scottish Government also took into account, the work done by NUS Scotland over the summer, set out in their publication 'Overstretched and Overdrawn'.

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