Baby boxes have been in the news again. Yesterday’s coverage was of some new SG research (worth a separate post at some point).But there’s also new financial information available for this policy which gives some insight into how the Scottish Government works, especially the power of political imperatives, and attitudes within government towards the Parliament. Costs to … [Read more...] about Baby boxes: a political case study
The case for more Scottish student grants
As this post noted, surprisingly the recent report of the Scottish student finance review did not set out what its proposals would mean at different incomes. Nor did it show how entitlements would change at different incomes under its recommendation.This post aims to fill that gap, providing a few charts which are missing from the review report. It argues that although the … [Read more...] about The case for more Scottish student grants
Dumping student debt? On the poor…
It is not often possible to quantify how far a subject has increased in political sensitivity over time. Student debt in Scotland turns out to be a rare exception. How far sensitivity has increased, and why, provides a window on the state of public debate about higher education in Scotland.First, the gratifyingly wonkish evidence. Every June, the Student Loans Company … [Read more...] about Dumping student debt? On the poor…
Brutality of small decisions: student grants
Over the past year, the Scottsh government has been very keen to celebrate its decision to increase the income up to which it provides maximum grant.It was doing so again yesterday: The Scottish Government said almost 3,000 additional students qualified for a non-repayable bursary or saw their funding increase as a result of the income threshold being raised from £17,000 … [Read more...] about Brutality of small decisions: student grants
Baby boxes: who’s in charge of delivery?
Baby boxes are due to be given out to all new mothers in Scotland who have a due date from 15 August onwards. Who is providing the boxes? The Times reported back in April that the contract for all aspects of baby boxes – getting the box made, obtaining the contents, filling it, delivering it, dealing with questions about its delivery – had been given to APS Group (Scotland) … [Read more...] about Baby boxes: who’s in charge of delivery?