Bill Wilson MSP

Reacting to the news that almost £14 million has been allocated to the Paisley Campus of the University of the West of Scotland for new student accommodation, and that Scotland tops the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) with regard to university research funding, Dr Bill Wilson MSP (SNP) has spoken of the value of Scottish universities.

Dr Wilson said, “Having done various research projects across Scotland and elsewhere, both s a student and as a postgraduate scientist, I appreciate how important the funding of universities is to the continuation of Scotland’s leading role in many areas. The fact that Scotland is not only spending more money as a percentage of its GDP than the rest of the UK but also more than any other country in the OECD is truly cause for celebration.

“In 2008, Scotland spent £939 million on university research funding. That was a 5.3 percent real terms increase on 2007. Scotland has always been a world leader when it comes to education, and these figures amount to a concrete demonstration of how much we value the work of our tertiary institutions.

Dr Bill Wilson MSP (SNP) has joined criticism of the BBC for not giving Scotland enough news coverage.

Dr Wilson said, “Over the past three years the BBC has begun to rectify its under-reporting of Scottish issues. However, its lead news programme, the Six O’clock News, has continued largely to ignore Scottish issues.

“Four stories were covered in June relating to Scottish affairs.  That is eleven hours of programming containing a mere four stories relating to Scotland.  This parallels the BBC’s lack of coverage or programming relating to the Scots language, an issue I have raised with them more than once.

“As the BBC is answerable to the people who pay their licence fees, and is subject to impartial review by a board of trustees who should be raising these issues, why is it continuing to short-change the people of Scotland in general and, in particular, those who speak Scots?  By contrast, the Scottish Government has shown its support for the Scots language and is backing its resurgence.