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Lord McIntosh of Haringey, government spokesman in the House of Lords, has denied that students in Scotland who come from elsewhere in the United Kingdom are suffering discrimination over fees.

In the Lords, Tory peer Baroness Blatch asked what steps the government proposed taking to remove discrimination over fee payments.

But Lord McIntosh said: "Devolution means that the arrangements in Scotland will be different, but differences do not amount to discrimination."

But he admitted that student support had been inadequate, after Baroness Sharp urged adopting "Cubie-style arrangements" in England.

The Association of University Teachers Scotland has this week called for the full implementation of the Cubie proposals, in a motion to the Scottish Trades Union Congress annual congress. Beleaguered students take action on fees and rent and fear a privatised future