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 Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whetherthe contract for Addiewell Prison has been signed with the private consortium involvedand, if not, on what date it is due to be signed and what the cost of the prisonwill be to the public purse over the lifetime of the contract.

(S2O-11192)

Cathy Jamieson: The contract for Addiewell Prison was signed by the Chief Executive ofScottish Prison Service on 20 June. The contract value is estimated to equate toaround £369 million in total, which is £15 million per annum in net presentvalue terms over the 25-year life of the contract.

To support the introduction of the public sector duty the Executive wrote to all Scottish public bodies subjectto the specific duties in December 2005 to inform them of their new legal obligationsunder the Disability Discrimination (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) (Scotland)Regulations 2005.

We are also supporting the DisabilityRights Commission’s (DRC) programme of conferences to raise awareness and supportpublic authorities in responding to the disability equality duty. To mark the introductionof the duty, I will be speaking at the DRC Scotland launch event on 4 December 2006.

The Executive is committed tocontinuing to work with the DRC, disabled people and public authorities in Scotland to encourageand support the implementation of the disability equality duty. As part of thiswe plan to establish a Public Sector Equality Forum and will use this as a routeto promote shared or joint approaches by public authorities.

However, the Executive is committedto continuing to work with the DRC, disabled people and public authorities in Scotland to encourageand support the implementation of the disability equality duty, introduced by theDDA 2005. As part of this we plan to establish a Public Sector Equality Forum andwill use this as a route to promote shared or joint approaches by public authorities.

Sources: Higher Education StatisticsAgency (HESA) and Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

The data above includes thosegraduating at sub degree, degree or postgraduate level in the given academic year.

Data on first employment destinationof graduates is collected by means of a voluntary survey of UK and EU domiciledgraduates around six months after graduation. Between 72% and 76% of full time graduatesresponded to the survey in the time period specified.

The most recent data on graduatedestinations from Scottish higher education institutions and colleges show that80 per cent of graduates going into permanent employment following graduation in2004-05 gained employment in Scotland. This compares to 75 per cent for 1999-00 graduates.The same data show that 91 per cent of the Scots-domiciled 2003-04 graduates inpermanent employment were employed in Scotland. This compares to 82 per cent in 1999-2000.

These figures demonstrate thatthere is already significant demand for graduates within the Scottish labour marketand that graduates from our institutions are successfully gaining employment inScotland.

Student Loan Debt for Scottish Domiciled Borrowers, as at 31 March 2006

Source: Student LoansCompany

It should be noted that debtis calculated at the point of entering repayment (i.e. 31 March 2006)rather than at the point of graduation. Therefore, the majority of customerswho have ceased to be students in 2006 will not enter repayment until 2007 andwe cannot provide figures for these students as yet.

Note: 1 – Scottish Office Figures.

Column 1 – The subsidy is thepayment made to the purchasing banks to cover the difference between the commercialrate of interest the banks would normally charge and the rate of inflation theyare required to charge by the regulations.

Column 2 – Payments are madeto the purchasing banks for loans which are written off due to age or death.

Column 3 – Shows payments madefor loans which are “repurchased” and returned to the government portfolio for reasonsof permanent disability or being medically unfit for work.

Column 4 - First loss claims,reimburse the purchasing banks for loans which become 24 months or more in arrears,as these loans no longer attract the interest rate subsidy.

Column 5 - First loss repaymentsare deducted from the total Executive payment as loan repayments can still be receivedafter the first loss claim is put in place, i.e. after the bad debt is written off.

Column 6 - Adjustments can bemade to the figures in respect of year-end reconciliations between what has beenpaid by the DfES and the devolved administrations. Adjustments can also be madeto reflect accruals and differences in spend across financial years.