What its position is on the Prime Minister's statement at Prime Minister's Questions, in respect of the abolition of tuition fees, that "un…

Tuition fees have been abolished for all eligible Scottish domiciled and EU students undertaking a full-time course of higher education in Scotland. These arrangements were introduced in academic year 2000-01.The Graduate Endowment scheme was introduced as part of the new student support arrangements from academic year 2001-02. Under this scheme, graduates will make a payment in recognition of the higher education benefits they received while they were students. These benefits include the financial support paid to the student towards his/her living costs and the public funding paid by the Executive to higher education institutions. The Graduate Endowment arrangements are distinct from the free tuition which has been available to eligible students in Scotland since academic year 2000-01. Unlike tuition fees, the endowment does not involve any payment during the course in exchange for access to provision and is set at a flat rate for all liable graduates regardless of the duration of their course of study. If the Graduate Endowment had simply replaced tuition fees, all students eligible for free tuition would also be liable for the Endowment. Around 50% of students will, in fact, be exempt from liability.