Thank you for the opportunity to provide evidence to the committee in response to the Auditor General for Scotland’s report “Scotland’s colleges 2017”.
As the director general for education, communities and justice, I am the relevant accountable officer for the Scottish Government. I have responsibility for ensuring that the Scottish funding council’s strategic direction aligns with the priorities of the Scottish Government and that it has the necessary controls in place to safeguard public funds. The accountable officer for the Scottish funding council is Dr John Kemp. The SFC is accountable for the delivery of the Scottish Government’s policy objectives, the deployment of resources to deliver them and associated planning and risk management.
I, too, welcome “Scotland’s colleges 2017”. It highlights what is working, where on-going work should be concluded and where further improvements should be made. Colleges have a clear, focused role in delivering a skilled workforce for their regions and have developed new and enhanced relationships with employers around curriculum planning, work experience and employability skills. Their focus is on learning opportunities that lead to recognised qualifications and employment.
We are pleased that the report identifies that the sector has continued to exceed the national target for learning and that student attainment has improved, and we are working to improve performance further. In that regard, the Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science has announced a national college improvement programme to raise attainment and improve retention in Scotland’s colleges over the next two academic years.
The report also identifies that the financial health of the college sector is relatively stable and that total Scottish Government funding to it will have increased by 5 per cent between 2015-16 and 2017-18. As negotiations on national bargaining remain on-going, the full costs have still to be determined, but they will be considered carefully as part of future budget settlements.
Official figures from the Scottish funding council show a small increase in student head count from 2014-15 to 2015-16, and there has also been an increase in the number of students from areas of deprivation. At least 83 per cent of students who achieve a qualification go on to a positive destination such as further study, training or employment.
Colleges are delivering not only for our young people. The number of full-time students aged 25 and over has increased by over 12 per cent since 2011-12. Colleges are also playing a key role in the delivery of higher education, with over 41 per cent of all full-time college activity in 2015-16 in higher education. That is the highest proportion ever.
There are a lot of successes that all those who work and study in the sector can be proud of. However, we recognise the challenges that are identified in the report, and we will continue to work closely with the Scottish funding council, Colleges Scotland and individual colleges on the report’s findings and we will work to address the recommendations that are for the Scottish Government.