Longitudinal education outcomes (LEO) from Scottish colleges: 2016-2017

Annex D: Background

The Small Business, Employment and Enterprise Act 2015 enabled the UK government, for the first time, to link education and tax data together to chart the transition of graduates from education into the workplace.

This is the third LEO release in 2019 from the Scottish Government, following the LEO universities publication in June and the LEO modern apprenticeships publication in September.

This experimental statistics release presents employment and earnings outcomes for those completing HNC or HND courses at Scottish colleges three years after completion. This publication is the first of its kind in Scotland to use the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset to track the earnings of those who complete college.

Figures are presented only for those who successfully completed a full-time HNC or HND at a Scottish college, and did not participate in any further study.

The employment data covers those with records submitted through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system and records submitted through the self-assessment system. The core purpose of PAYE is to collect tax and its coverage reflects this. Until April 2013, employers were not required to supply information to HMRC for individuals who earned below the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) for National Insurance contributions, although for large employers these individuals were thought to be included due to the methods of data transfer. Since April 2013, employers have been required to provide earnings information for all employees if even one employee of the company is paid above the LEL threshold. The self-assessment data captures the activity of individuals with income that is not taxed through PAYE, such as income from self-employment.

Self-assessed earnings are not published in isolation, rather they are included as part of a total earnings figure. See 'Total earnings' under Methodology for more information on this. All figures are based on UK tax, benefit and apprentice records only: activity of those who move abroad to work or study after completion is not reflected in the employment or further study figures. Instead, these individuals are categorised as 'activity not captured'.