Higher Education

In this column in August, I discussed the arrival of exam results for school students in Scotland and the multitude of options and opportunities young people in Scotland have. Developments since have ensured that, in particular, higher education has not left the headlines.

Figures released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that a record number of young Scots will attend University in Scotland this year. This is as a result of the best ever school exam results, which have opened the door for 22, 292 Scottish students to go to Scottish Universities. This is before including the 3000 unprocessed applications, and the potential for entry through the UCAS clearing system.

However, there is more to this story than high achieving young Scots. Scotland has a long and proud tradition of access to high quality education based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay. In fact, the Scottish Government recently announced that, as well as maintaining free tuition, legislation is to come into force in 2013 which will ensure that students from low income families have access to a living income through bursaries and loans, all students will be eligible for a student loan of at least £4500 and part-time working students who do not earn over a £25k threshold will receive full support for tuition fees.

Ensuring access to free higher education is not only a source of great pride for Scotland, the only country in the UK to provide this, but also an economic boon for our country, and an invaluable investment for the future. This is because it is the same bright young Scots who attend university this year, that emerge as top-level graduates in fields from science and engineering to the arts, social sciences and medicine who we will look to in the future.

To take a specific example, it was revealed this year, after the Scottish Government funded an additional 1000 places at the University of the Highlands and Islands, that for every £1 invested in the institution, the equivalent of £4 is returned to the Scottish economy.

Evidently, this is money well spent, and with more bright students full of potential entering higher education every year, they will be in an excellent position to take their place at the heart of Scotland’s economy in the coming years.

Healthcare

The Scottish Government has always been an outspoken defender of frontline healthcare and brought in a target of reducing senior management positions in the NHS by 25% by 2015 to ensure frontline services are protected. The latest figures show that since March 2010 a drop of 16.1% has been achieved so far, which demonstrates that we are well on our way to achieving the target.

The reduction in senior management positions comes as figures show that the NHS workforce in Scotland is 2.6% higher than it was in September 2006 before the SNP took office, while there are also more qualified nurses employed by the NHS in Scotland since that time.

The SNP is committed to protecting frontline healthcare and ensuring that people in Scotland continue to receive the exceptional level of care they currently get from the NHS. Drawing this sort of balance is never easy, but at a time when resources are tight, it is more important than ever that frontline healthcare is the top priority. You will not find many people who would not agree that money should be used to employ health staff ahead of senior managers.

The fact that the NHS in Scotland is effectively independent shows what we can achieve when decisions are made by a Scottish Parliament, 100% elected in Scotland. Of course to truly protect Scotland’s health service from the spending decisions of the Tory-led coalition, we need the normal powers of an independent country.