By Steve Bargeton, political editor

MSPs YESTERDAY voted through measures to allow Scottish medical schools to charge students from other parts of the UK fees of up to £2700 a year.

Ministers say the move is necessary to stem a flood of “fee refugees” coming to Scotland when top-up fees are introduced in England in the autumn.

However, opposition parties at Holyrood accused the Executive of bringing in top-up university tuition fees by the back door.

MSPs voted for the new fees by 66 to 56, with one abstention—Dundee West MSP Kate Maclean.

There are 10 applications for every place to study medicine in Scotland, with 40% of entrants last year coming from outside Scotland.

The Executive say that Scottish medical students are twice as likely to stay in Scotland to work for 10 years after graduation.

If fees for non-Scottish domiciled students were not introduced they would be getting a five-year course £9000 cheaper than if they studied at an English university.

In parliament yesterday, First Minister Jack McConnell said that differential could lead to a flood of medical students from other parts of the country taking up places at Scottish medical schools.

“We are going to preserve the interests of the Scottish health service and the interests of Scottish students who want to study in our medical schools,” he said.

“It is precisely because of the announcement of this measure last year that those numbers are down, as (SNP deputy leader) Miss Sturgeon suggests.

“If we had not made that announcement, the financial incentive of a £9000 saving for students from England to come to study at medical schools in Scotland would have been an incentive for many more of them.”

However, Nicola Sturgeon accused the Executive of seeking to introduce top-up university tuition fees by the back door.

She reminded the First Minister that the Labour- Liberal Democrat coalition pact states, “We will not support the introduction of top-up tuition fees.”

She told MSPs, “It could not be clearer—and today that promise is being broken by the introduction of variable top-up fees for certain students here in Scotland.

“Is it any wonder that those who recognise this is the thin end of the wedge simply won’t believe the First Minister when he says it’s not?”

Mr McConnell said he would not allow the introduction of variable top-up fees.

“We are not introducing variable top-up tuition fees, we have no intention of doing so, and it’s not going to happen as long as I am First Minister,” he said.

Scottish Tory deputy leader Murdo Fraser said, “The real issue is the betrayal by a Liberal Democrat minister (Nicol Stephen) of Scotland’s students,” he said. “They (the Lib Dems) try to say that they are against top-up fees. But now we have the minister supporting methods to bring top up fees into Scotland by the back door.”