Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee, 19 Jun 2001

Meeting date: Tuesday, June 19, 2001

Official Report 101KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

Item 2 is on subordinate legislation. I welcome Ann Scott, Jim Logie and Colin Reeves from the Scottish Executive.

The committee has two statutory instruments to deal with, both of which relate to Bell College of Technology.

The Bell College of Technology (Scotland) Order of Council 2001 (SI 2001/2005) is a Privy Council order, so there is a limit to what we can say about it. The Designation of Bell College of Technology (Scotland) Order 2001 (SSI 2001/199) will transfer Bell College of Technology from the further education sector to the higher education sector—the first such transfer since further education colleges were incorporated into that sector in 1993. The order will assist ministers' aims of widening access by giving new local opportunities for higher education in Lanarkshire. Ministers also expect that the transfer will underpin the local economy by opening up the range of training and educational opportunities that are available to improve the local skills base.

The Designation of Bell College of Technology (Scotland) Order 2000 also winds up and dissolves the existing college board of management. That is required under the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 when a further education college transfers to the higher education sector.

The Designation of Bell College of Technology (Scotland) Order 2001 is linked to the Bell College of Technology (Scotland) Order of Council 2001, which establishes arrangements for the governance of the college as a higher education institution and gives Scottish ministers authority to appoint a first round of governors. The governors' consent to receive the obligations, assets and so on of the college is required to effect the transfer. Thereafter, it will be for the governing body to appoint any governors.

Bell College of Technology was established by the local authority in 1972 to provide advanced education. Its position in the further education sector has been anomalous for some time because nearly all its provision is of higher education. Bell College of Technology applied for higher education designation in 1997. The application was the subject of widespread consultation and enjoyed widespread support. The college underwent a successful quality audit by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and ministers approved the application in February 2000. It has taken since then to put all the necessary bricks in place to make the transfer possible. Subject to the will of Parliament, the transfer will take place on 1 August.

Thank you.

Is anyone unhappy about the move? Does anyone continue to oppose the transfer?

I am not aware of any opposition.

On a technical point, I understand that the college will no longer have a board of management, but that it will have a board of governors. Is that correct?

Yes.

Are we heading towards an inconsistency in the higher education echelon, in which we will have ancient universities that were created by statute, new universities that were created by charter, and now an institution that appears to have a board of governors, rather than a university court? Is there some inconsistency there?

No. The higher education sector is not homogenous. It consists of four ancient universities, four chartered universities, five universities that were established under the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, and several higher education colleges, which were established by different means. Most universities have chosen to call their governing body a university court—there is one exception. However, in other institutions, the governing body is simply called the governing body or the board of governors. Bell College of Technology will be akin to the universities that were established by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, with the difference that it will call its governing body the governing body, rather than the university court.

Is there any distinction between the terms in law? The obligations of the members of university courts are clearly defined. What governs a board of governors?

The board will be governed in accordance with the Bell College of Technology (Scotland) Order of Council 2001. That instrument sets the college's governing body in place, provides for the appointment of different categories of members, determines the duration of their terms of office and sets out the powers and responsibilities of the governing body. It is the same sort of governance order as that which is in place for all the universities that were created by the 1992 act, the art colleges, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Queen Margaret University College.

As we are considering negative instruments, we do not explicitly amend or approve them, but simply identify issues that we want to raise.

Do members have any issues to raise that should be reported to Parliament?

Members indicated disagreement.

I thank the Executive officials.