A devolved matter is one such as education, health and prisons. These were previously dealt with by the Parliament at Westminster and are now decided in Scotland. . All the issues on which the Scottish Parliament can pass legislation are known as " ".
Reserved powers are decisions (mostly about matters with a UK or international impact) are reserved and dealt with at Westminster. The Scotland Act also specifies certain issues on which the Scottish Parliament cannot pass legislation. These are known as "". Reserved matters include Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security.
The Graduate Endowment Abolition Bill
The Graduate Endowment Abolition Bill was introduced by Fiona Hyslop MSP on the 22nd October 2007. The bill has completed stage 1 on the 20 December 2007 and is now currently being considered at Stage 2. The bill has also been considered by the Finance Committee on the following dates and .
The main aim of the Bill is to eradicate the Graduate Endowment Policy which students have to pay upon graduation. Unless this fee is paid students are unable to graduate, although they have completed the course and passed the exams.
The Graduate Endowment fee was part of the new student support arrangements for higher education students introduced by the Education Act 2001 and applied from Autumn of the same year. Graduates are not asked to pay the GE fee until 1 April following the year they have completed their course, although the amount payable is set at the beginning of their degree course. For entrants in academic year 2006-07, the endowment fee was set at £2,289 for the time of graduation.
Fortunately not all students have to pay the GE fee. There are a number of exemptions, including lone parents, those who are in receipt of the Disabled Students' Allowance at some point during their course, those who are studying at a UK institution outside Scotland, students who come to study in Scotland from elsewhere in the UK or from all countries out with the EU, or those who study part-time. Overall, almost 50% of graduates are exempt under these criteria. This wholly discriminates against Scottish students who study full time. This law is allowing our system to be abused by students coming to Scotland to study from overseas. After all were the shoe on the other foot Scottish students would not be exempt and in many cases would be charged extra because they were not a resident of the country they are studying in. This law discourages many school leavers from furthering their education at university because they either cannot afford it or do not want to leave with a high student debt.
The next group of students who will, under current arrangements, have to pay the GE fee are those who have successfully completed their course on or after 1 April 2007. The regulations made under the 2001 Act will result in those graduates becoming liable to pay on 1 April 2008. Students who successfully complete their course on or after 1 April next year, become liable to pay the fee on 1 April 2009.
“… the graduate endowment fee is an inefficient way of raising the money that is necessary to fund student support. In fact, the majority of student support—the young students bursary and so on—comes from outwith graduate endowment fee provisions. Only a third of the bill is paid up front in cash. Two thirds of it is added on to the loan—that is quantified at about £27 million“[…] Of the amount that is added to the loan, in the past three years, only £57,000 has come back to the taxpayer”[…] By abolishing the graduate endowment fee, we can ensure that the money goes straight to students and bypasses the middle man, which was an inefficient way of finding resources.”
To become a statute, public bills have to pass three parliamentary stages. A bill can be introduced into the house of parliament if it is by an MP or a peer but usually they are government bills and would normally be introduced to the House of Commons first.
The stages are called the “First” and “Second” readings, Committee Stage, Report Stage and Third Reading.
The first reading of the bill consists of a number of formalities where they are announced and a brief summary of the bill is read out. At the first reading a date is then set for the second reading to take place. The bill will be printed and given out to the relevant members at this point.
The Second reading is where the House will discuss the general ideas of the bill and at the end of the debate the proposition is put to a vote.
The Committee Stage is the point where most bills are passed on to a Standing Committee. These committees are created specifically to deal with the Bill they normally consist of 18-50 MPs and reflect the position of the parties represented in the House of Commons. The Bill is then scrupulously inspected and any amendments are made.
The Report Stage involves a review of all amendments made, if any, during the Committee Stage. At this stage all members have the opportunity to debate the amendments and pass the bill back to the original house proposing their changes, eventually to create an agreed version. This can take some time as the bill can be changed and passed around many times.
At the Third Reading the House examines the final edition of the Bill. It is then discussed and debated and a vote is taken to decide whether the Bill will become a statute.
At this point the Bill is then passed on to the House of Lords where the whole procedure is then repeated. The House of Lords can make further amendments, which must then go back to be agreed, to the Bill before passing it on to the Crown.
The final stage of a Bill is where the Crown must officially agree to the Bill in order for it to become a Statute and pass into law. In this day and age it is unlikely that the Bill will be passed on to the Crown for Royal Assent except in extraordinary circumstances.
Bibliography
The Scottish Parliament, FAQ, , 07/01/2008
The Scottish Parliament, About the Parliament, , 07/01/2008
Parlianet, The Scottish Parliament, Parliamentary Info, , 07/01/2008
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Gemma McIntyre, 07007637, Legal Systems, Leslie Milliken and
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/corporate/powers/index.htm
Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Act 2001 (asp 6)