§ Mr. SwinneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the expected administrative costs of introducing tuition fees in Scotland in 1998–99. [45860]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Student Awards Agency for Scotland will be responsible for assessing applications for assistance towards the cost of tuition from Scottish domiciled students. The work is analogous to the Agency's existing functions and we do not expect the administrative costs to be materially different.
Any costs incurred by the educational institutions in relation to the collection of students' own contributions to tuition costs is a matter for the institutions themselves.
§ Mr. SwinneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the expected savings are to his Department arising from(a) the abolition of maintenance grants and (b) the introduction of tuition fees; and what is the expected additional expenditure from the Scottish Office to finance student loans in each of the financial years 1998–99 to 2003–04. [45841]
§ Mr. WilsonIn financial year 1998–99, the overall effect of the changes will be broadly neutral in expenditure terms. Estimates for future years will depend on a number of factors and have yet to be finalised, but in the longer term we expect the changes to raise about £140 million in Scotland.