§ Mr. Allan StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the levels of students' allowances and parental contributions for session 1990–91.
§ Mr. LangI propose to increase the main rates of allowances by 5 per cent. in the 1990–91 academic year. In addition, I propose to increase the differential in the rate paid to students studying in London. The new rates for Scottish students will be as follows (rates for 1989–90 are shown in brackets):
£ (£) Student in the parental home 1,660 (1,575) Student living away from home outside London 2,200 (2,090) in London 2,780 (2,585) Students in receipt of maintenance allowances will be eligible for reimbursement of travelling expenses in excess of the £60 included in the main rates.
The threshold for parental contributions, and the points on the contribution scales at which the rate of contribution changes, will be uprated to reflect the movement of earnings. Parents whose residual income is below £11,500 will not be assessed for a contribution.
The full contribution scales for session 1990–91 are set out in the table.
148W
Contribution Scale Residual Income Scale 1 Scale 2 £ £ £ 11,500 60 45 12,000 131 98 13,000 274 206 14,000 417 313 14,700 517 388 15,000 577 433 16,000 777 583 17,000 977 733 18,000 1,177 883 19,000 1,377 1,033 20,000 1,577 1,183 21,000 1,777 1,333 21,600 1,897 1,423 22,000 1,997 1,498 23,000 2,247 1,686 24,000 2,497 1,873 25,000 2,747 2,060 26,000 2,997 2,248 27,000 3,247 2,435 28,000 3,497 2,623 29,000 3,747 2,810 30,000 3,997 2,998 31,000 4,247 3,185 32,000 4,497 3,373 33,000 4,747 3,560 34,000 4,997 3,748 35,000 5,247 3,935 36,000 5,497 4,123 37,000 5,747 4,310 37,210 15,800 4,350 38,000 — 4,498 39,000 — 4,685 40,000 — 4,873 41,000 — 5,060 42,000 — 5,248 43,000 — 5,435 44,000 — 5,623 44,946 — 15,800
1 Max Notes:
1. The second parental contribution scale was introduced following the announcement on 15 March 1988 that tax relief on new non-charitable deeds of covenant would cease; it applies primarily to students who first entered higher education in session 1988–89 or later. The contributions assessed on scale 2 are 25 per cent. less than those on scale 1.
2. Contributions will rise with residual income, as follows:
Income Scale 1 Scale 2 From £11,500 to £14,700 By £1 in £7 As in Scale 1, but reduced by 25 per cent. From £14,701 to £21,600 By £1 in £5 From £21,601 By £1 in £4 3. The contribution payable may be less than the amounts shown in the relevant table, particularly at the top of the scale where the contribution is in respect of one award holder only. It will depend on the level of grant against which the contribution is to be set and whether or not any of the assessed contribution is itself offset by allowances for other dependent children.