Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Jeremy Purvis MSP has demanded urgent clarification that a bureaucratic foul up by the SNP will not come between students and their loans or grants.
The Scottish Government announced changes to the eligibility criteria for student loans in February. But, it failed to take the necessary action to give the changes the full force of law. Despite this lack of legal basis, Student Award Agency Scotland (SAAS) collected personal details from students and their families to implement the revised eligibility criteria, with the intention of determining grant and loan levels for this academic year.
The Scottish Government was not able to provide any clarification that they were legally able to do this and whether the subsequent grant notices will be fully legal.
During a meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee, it became apparent, through questioning by Mr Purvis, that the Scottish Government had no idea how many students had been affected and how many may be adversely affected. Concerns had already been voiced by Mr Purvis that some poorer students will be worse off under the new criteria.
Commenting, Mr Purvis said:
“The SNP Government has been totally incompetent. SNP Ministers announced changes the eligibility criteria for students’ grants and loans in a press release, but then failed to secure the parliamentary approval necessary for the changes to become law.
SAAS requested personal details from students and their families to determine any changes in student loan allocations. Now we have learned that SAAS may not have had legal authority to send these letters, collect the details, or indeed change the amount of money that students receive. Government officials were not able to say categorically that SAAS have acted legally.
“Obviously, the most important issue is that this bureaucratic foul up must not come between students and their loans or grants. I have demanded that the Scottish Government clarifies whether SAAS have had legal power to ask for the eligibility data and to make determinations on levels of grants and loans.
“No student should be allowed to lose out on grants as a result of ministerial incompetence.”