Education Committee, 25 Feb 2004

Meeting date: Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Official Report 315KB pdf

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Medical Standards (Scottish Executive Consultation)

Welcome to this meeting of the Education Committee. We are in public session and I ask people to ensure that their mobile phones and pagers are turned off.

There are two items on the agenda. Under the first item, we are invited to note or comment on the Executive's consultation paper on medical standards. The paper has come before us at a relatively early stage; that is helpful for members, who may have thoughts about it. Broadly speaking, the Executive proposes that the requirement for a medical examination before entry to teacher training courses and registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland should be abandoned, for the reasons stated in the consultation paper. Following the consultation, a Scottish statutory instrument will be introduced to give effect to the proposal.

I would be interested in any comments the committee may have on the paper. We do not need to do anything with it, however, and there may be issues about whether we should get involved in consultations at this stage, rather than later on. Do members have any concerns about the proposal and the way in which it is going forward?

The proposal seems to make sense, particularly given concerns about disability discrimination. I can see a logic and consistency there. It would be better if we could consider it again once we have heard what other organisations have to say. Even if the proposal has been made with the best of intentions, my concern would probably be about the ramifications of the proposal, or what could be interpreted as a result of its implementation.

I would like to put a question to the minister.

I am sorry. Although the minister is in the room, he is not here for agenda item 1; he is here for the next item. We are causing alarm and distress in ministerial circles.

I am not hoping for an answer today. The query at the back of my mind concerns people with a mental instability. For example, a lecturer whom I knew had manic depression. At times he was a brilliant lecturer, but when manic depression overcame him, he could not cope. I wonder whether appropriate arrangements are in place to deal with people who have a considerable contribution to make, but who at certain times will not be able to perform. That needs to be taken into account.

When people join the profession, such conditions are hardly likely to be revealed by medical examination. Would the matter not be dealt with in the context of disciplinary procedures during a person's career?

There are several questions to be answered. My point is that I hope that the matter will be looked at because the protection of children's interests—not only their physical protection—is important.

The consultation is long overdue and I welcome it.

I get the impression that there is no desire to do anything at the moment. As Fiona Hyslop said, we should await the responses to the consultation and pick up any issues that emerge later. Lord James's comments are valid and it might help our understanding of the matter if we got some idea from the Scottish Parliament information centre or from the minister about how the proposal might affect people during their careers.