Members were bitterly critical of several proposed measures, including those on waste, education and skills and the Welsh language, saying costs had not been adequately estimated.

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However, the full proposals are as yet un-costed and could face hurdles because of the high costs associated with training language teachers.

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For example, the money could be used to support the extra transport costs of someone with mobility problems or provide sign language interpreters for deaf people.

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China Daily, an English-language newspaper, said officials had given few details of the rising costs they hoped to offset with the price increases.

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This would allow Scottish Ministers to recover the costs of Education Scotland carrying out inspections in independent further education colleges and English language schools.

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