Hansard

The committee has met Jim Logie, Lucy Hunter and Chris Graham previously. I thank the committee for inviting us to the meeting. I am glad to have the opportunity to begin the formal debate on the final stage of the Graduate Endowment (Scotland) Regulations 2001.The regulations are the first to be made under regulation 1 of the Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Act 2001, which received royal assent on 3 May. Throughout the progress of the bill, we provided the committee with illustrative drafts of the regulations in order to enable members to familiarise themselves with the regulations' main provisions. The final set of regulations was laid on 15 May. We have also discussed the detail of the regulations with our advisory group, for whose input we are grateful.The regulations cover the arrangements for payment of the graduate endowment by liable graduates and they specify which graduates are liable to pay and when. The regulations also specify the amount of the graduate endowment that is to be paid and they make provision for loans to be made available to graduates to enable them to discharge their liability.I am conscious of the fact that the Subordinate Legislation Committee asked us to reconsider the balance of detail in the act and the regulations, which we did. The Subordinate Legislation Committee acknowledged the need for flexibility in the detail of the scheme to the extent that, if more detail was included in the act, it would need to be in the form of what is sometimes called a Henry VIII clause. In other words, the act would have to be open to amendment by secondary legislation. We do not believe that that would have been an improvement and it could have become more confusing over time.I shall deal with the regulations in order. Part I merely covers the citation and commencement details. The regulations' coming into force on 1 August 2001 will ensure that students who start degree courses in the forthcoming academic year will be liable to pay the graduate endowment. Part I also provides definitions for specific terms that are used elsewhere in the regulations. Part II explains which new students will be liable to pay the endowment. Under regulation 3(1) a liable graduate is a person who has undertaken a full-time degree course that commenced on or after 1 August 2001 at a Scottish college or university.The regulations recognise that there is an increasing variety of patterns of study. We want students to be as clear as possible at the start of their courses about whether they will be liable to pay the endowment. For that reason, regulation 3(1)(b) sets out the minimum periods of full-time degree study that will attract liability. In particular, we have taken account of the growth in recent years in the number of students who progress from higher national certificate to higher national diploma to degree-level education. Responses to our consultation and subsequent discussions with a variety of higher education representative bodies indicated that students should, as far as possible, be treated in the same way, whether they gain their degree through the conventional route or they begin their studies on a sub-degree HE course—for example, on what is sometimes referred to as the 2-plus-2 model.Regulation 3(1)(b) therefore provides that, for students whose study has been undertaken wholly on a degree course, the period of full-time study that will attract liability should be three years. For a student who moves from a sub-degree course"as part of a continuous programme of higher education",only two years on a full-time degree course are needed. We are aware that a number of students follow the 2-plus-1 model of study, taking one year after an HND to reach ordinary degree standard. We received forceful representations that that is a valuable way of encouraging non-traditional students to degree level study and that making those students liable for the endowment might risk preventing the further development of that approach. We agree that the development of the 2-plus-1 model is especially valuable in widening access; therefore, regulation 3(1)(b) will ensure that those students will not be liable to pay the endowment. We expect patterns of HE study to continue to evolve, and we think that it is right that the rules are contained in regulations, rather than in the act. In that way, liability for the endowment can continue to be adapted as necessary to reflect the changing nature of HE provision.Regulation 3(1)(c) deals with the residency rules for liability, which are almost identical to the residency rules for the receipt of bursary and other support from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. The only difference between these rules and those that are applied by SAAS is that refugees are exempt from liability for the endowment, although a refugee might be entitled to support from SAAS for at least part of their course.Regulation 3(2) will ensure that students who are currently on HNC or HND courses, who later transfer to degree courses, will not be liable for the endowment—in other words, we accept that they should not be treated as new students. Such students' HNC or HND courses must commence in 2001 or later for the continuous programme of study to trigger liability.Regulations 3(3) and 3(4) will ensure that graduates whose pattern of study involves a change of institution or course, or that involves part-time study will be liable as long as they meet the requirement of the minimum period of full-time study.Regulation 4 deals with exemption. It provides that graduates will be exempt from liability if they fulfil the criteria that are applied to mature students at the start of their courses for the purpose of student support. The exemptions are contained in the regulations so that the definitions can be kept in line with those that are used elsewhere in the student support system, which are contained in regulations, or in rules that are made under regulations.Regulation 5 provides that certain courses are exempt either because of their level—such as HNC and HND courses—or, in the case of the professions that are allied to medicine, because of separate funding arrangements for students who are undertaking them. A review of the funding arrangements for students who are undertaking health-related courses—which are listed in schedule 3—is currently under way and the position of those students in relation to the graduate endowment will have to be considered as part of that review.Regulation 6 requires individuals, colleges and universities to provide information that is necessary for the assessment of whether students are liable for the graduate endowment.In part III, regulation 7 explains that the amount of graduate endowment that is payable by liable graduates will be set at the start of their degree course, whether or not the degree follows directly from a lower-level course. Under regulation 7(3), the amount of endowment for new entrants this year will be £2,000. We considered very carefully whether those provisions would be better contained in the 2001 act or the regulations, especially in the light of the comments of the Subordinate Legislation Committee. However, we did not feel that it was appropriate to embed a specific figure in the act. Such a step is always unusual and risks tying a scheme to an out-of-date figure. We felt that the amount of the endowment and the provisions for uprating were properly matters that should be included in regulations rather than in primary legislation. As regulation 7(4) makes clear, we are committed to linking increases in the endowment only to inflation.Regulation 8 deals with the detail of payment. Graduates will not be required to pay the endowment until 1 April of the year following their graduation. The "due date" in regulation 8(1) is defined in part I. If they choose to do so, liable students may discharge their liability by taking out an income-contingent student loan. The regulations provide that a loan must be made available to liable students for that purpose if they apply for one. The loan that is applied for must be for the full due amount of the graduate endowment. The regulations also give Scottish ministers discretion to accept an application that is made after the relevant date.I move,That the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee recommends that the draft Graduate Endowment (Scotland) Regulations 2001 be approved.