asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what would be the estimated cost of abolition of the parental means test for students' grants if the child allowance for income tax were ended for children in full-time higher education at the same time in Scotland.

The net cost of abolishing the parental contribution under the Scottish Students' Allowances Scheme if the child income tax allowance were withdrawn at the same time is estimated for 1974–75 to be in the region of £1 million-£2 million, depending upon the basis on which the allowance was withdrawn.