Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee, 27 Oct 1999

Meeting date: Wednesday, October 27, 1999

Official Report 274KB pdf

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Referrals

We move on to item 3 on the agenda. I declare an interest in this item, as I have signed the petition on tuition fees. Nick Johnston should do likewise. The Public Petitions Committee has referred that petition to us. The issue is currently under discussion by the Cubie committee, on behalf of the Scottish Executive, and the recommendation is that we should forward this petition to that committee for its information. Does the committee agree?

Members indicated agreement.

The next item of referral is the Educational Development, Research and Service (Scotland) Grant Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/65). The papers have been made available to committee members and the recommendation is that we have no particular comments for the Education, Culture and Sport committee, which is the lead committee on the matter.

I am curious to know to whom the grants were paid from 1946 to now.

I cannot answer that question directly. However, you can assume that the grants have been paid and that the order extends the Executive's ability to pay them.

I know that the grants have been paid, Simon, but where did they go? The order says that the Executive will now be permitted to issue grants to local authorities, all of which were previously barred from receiving them.

The assumption is that grants would previously have gone to third parties such as consultants. However, local authorities are now allowed to take on that role.

Do we know the amount of these grants a year?

No, but we can certainly find out.

I am not objecting to the recommendation, convener. I am just interested in the background.

Simon will follow up your questions and will communicate the answers to the rest of the committee.

At this stage, I should say that a statutory instrument about the payment of loans to students has just been referred to this committee as the lead committee on the issue. The order will come before the committee at its next meeting, which is on 10 November.

The third item is a referral from the European Committee about the European Commission green paper on liability for defective products. The Scottish Executive's notes on the directive's contents have been made available to the committee. At this stage, as it is difficult to identify any particular component of the green paper that might be different in a Scottish context, it is proposed that no comments should be made to the European Committee.

I have one observation, convener. The green paper's proposal imposes an absolute liability on producers. A distinction might be made on that issue between the law of delict in Scotland and the law of damages in England. The European Committee might want to take advice on that, as the proposals might fundamentally affect Scottish producers.

We can certainly raise those issues for the European Committee to consider. Is that agreed? It is agreed.