Education, Culture and Sport Committee, 18 Jun 2002

Meeting date: Tuesday, June 18, 2002

Official Report 329KB pdf

---

Local Government in Scotland Bill

I invite the committee to agree its approach to the Local Government in Scotland Bill. The Education, Culture and Sport Committee is a secondary committee on the bill. Section 29 of the bill will temporarily suspend the requirement to advertise principal teacher posts as a consequence of the McCrone settlement. We will receive written evidence from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the teaching unions during the summer. If members want to take oral evidence, we should do so in September. I am interested to hear the views of the committee on the bill.

I suggest that, because section 29 is quite a small provision, it might be sensible for us to invite written evidence from COSLA, the teaching unions and anyone else whom we feel is appropriate and to set a deadline of before 3 September. If members feel that we need to hear oral evidence, that option would be open to us. As members' views may differ, I thought that my proposal might be the most helpful way in which to proceed. We will have a meeting towards the end of August, at which we can reflect on the responses that have been received and consider whether to take oral evidence.

Jackie Baillie suggests that written evidence should reach us by 3 September, with the option of taking oral evidence.

I am sorry that I am slightly late, convener. There have been a couple of distractions this morning.

All members are familiar with the discussion and arguments that took place when we considered the School Education (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill about the need to change the law on principal teacher posts. I hope that I quote the Deputy Minister for Education and Young People correctly when I remind members of his advice that such a change was not necessary. However, we now know that the change is necessary.

I rarely support the arguments of Brian Monteith, but he argued that we should examine the entire McCrone settlement and I believe that there is now a requirement to restore public confidence in the settlement, which I have supported throughout. If the minister does not know what is required legally to make the McCrone settlement stick, the committee's duty is to examine the settlement and to restore public confidence in it. That could be done in a brief evidence-taking session on the Local Government in Scotland Bill. It would be quite wrong of the Executive to sneak the change in the law on principal teacher posts into the miscellaneous provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Bill, as that would mean that our voice was not heard.

Jackie Baillie suggested that we ask for written evidence to review when we meet at the end of August. We must agree to a timetable. On 3 September, we will decide whether to invite oral evidence if we still need information. Does Michael Russell suggest that we take oral evidence?

I am in favour of our taking written evidence, but I suggest that we need oral evidence to explore the issues properly. I am happy to support Jackie Baillie's suggestion, but I would like to keep the door firmly open to taking oral evidence, as we will all want to say something when the bill is introduced.

That is fine. Is that agreed?

Members indicated agreement.