Significant concerns about costs of tertiary education and training funding proposals – MSPs

The Scottish Government’s Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill aims to consolidate the funding landscape for apprenticeships and national training programmes, improve processes and governance at the Scottish Funding Council, and clarify the procedure for providing student support to Scottish students studying at private institutions in the UK.

MSPs on the Committee report that they support the Government’s ambitions to make funding more responsive to the needs of learners and the economy and improve the operation of the Scottish Funding Council.

The evidence the Committee heard demonstrated to MSPs that the approach towards administrating and delivering apprenticeships, which offer valuable opportunities to learners and businesses in Scotland and make a vital contribution to the economy, needed to be improved.

The MSPs also saw the benefit of measures to improve the governance of the Scottish Funding Council, which the Committee hopes could help protect the finances of Scotland’s university and college sector.

However, the Committee has taken the unusual step of not making a recommendation on whether the Scottish Parliament should pass the Bill after concerns arose about a lack of clarity over the potentially significant costs of these changes.

In particular, the Committee has outlined that it is essential that the Government clarifies the cost of transferring staff from the Skills Development Scotland pension scheme to the Scottish Funding Council. The Scottish Government estimated this could cost up to £23 million, but the Chief Executive for Skills Development Scotland believed the cost could be higher.

The Committee also thinks it is vital that staff at both organisations are kept informed and engaged about the process after hearing concerns of a lack of meaningful consultation and widespread uncertainty during evidence.

Douglas Ross MSP, Convener of the Education, Children and Young People Committee, said:

“The value of apprenticeships to learners and businesses across Scotland is clear – and that’s part of the reason why our Committee supports elements which underpin this Bill. Funding should be responsive to what Scotland’s learners and economy needs

“However, we’ve taken the unusual step of not making a recommendation on whether the Parliament should support the Bill in principle because of our significant concerns around the lack of clarity over the costs of the proposals. The Scottish Government must make progress on clarifying these if the Bill is to progress further.

“It is essential that we see a comprehensive update on the costs of the proposals before the Scottish Parliament votes on whether to proceed with the Bill later this autumn.”