Students are better off, says minister

SHETLAND MSP Tavish Scott has described as “shocking” that no consultation has taken place prior to the government moving ahead with changes to the way students’ travel costs are reimbursed.

In a letter to the local MSP, Scottish secretary for education Mike Russell has now said that there had been no need for consultation because the changes made represented “a better deal for students”.

This claim is disputed by local students who say they feel discriminated against.

They have set up an e-petition at www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/saasdiscrimination in protest against these changes.

In September, the Scottish government moved from a travel expenses grant scheme to a loan based system that does not take into account how far the student is travelling between home and university or college.

Mr Scott said that the new system has led to local students losing out on travel expenses support.

“The system has changed from a travel grant of around £300 plus three return trips to a maximum loan increase of £350. How can most students be better off under this new system?

“It is shocking that the Minister thought he could just change student support without any sort of consultation. Students are now being faced with increased costs at a time when they can least afford it.”

But in his letter, Mr Russell said the change to the scheme had been an “operational” one.

He added: “Our assessment showed while some students would be worse off, these would generally be students who lived at home and who undertook a daily commute.

“This assessment was not based on ‘reasonable estimates’ rather they were based on historic claim data.”

Mr Russell’s letter can be read here.