§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) mature and (b) other undergraduate students attending full-time courses at colleges and universities in Scotland have not yet received payment of their Scottish Education Department awards for the current year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Allan StewartBy mid-October approximately 64,000 applications for students' awards had been received by the Scottish Education Department, of which fewer than 30 are still awaiting final assessments. Since the middle of October more than 1,000 late applications have been received, the majority of which have now been passed for payment. Late applications continue to be received daily, but the Department has standing arrangements with educational establishments to identify students who may suffer hardship as a result of consequential delays. Separate information for mature and other undergraduate students is not available.