Question reference: S6W-03984
- Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 25 October 2021
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 26 October 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will respond to the Scottish Funding Council’s Review of Coherent Provision and Sustainability.
Answer
Our colleges and universities have been vital in our efforts to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The decades to come will bring further significant change at pace – shifts in automation, digital developments and artificial intelligence, the move to net-zero, changes in the world of work and study, global competition for talent and resources and our future demographic, health and social care needs.
That is why we asked the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to review how it could best fulfil its mission of achieving coherence, quality and sustainability in tertiary education and research. SFC’s report - Coherence and Sustainability: A Review of Tertiary Education and Research - was published at the end of June 2021.
Our full response was published today and is available at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802015041 . The Scottish Government broadly accept the Review’s recommendations. We recognise that, given the breadth of recommendations, some require a Scottish Government lead, others are for SFC and its Board to consider further, while we expect the sector itself to respond across a number of key areas. In addition, some recommendations will require further development for consultation.
As a government, our ambition is to create the best possible environment for colleges and universities, students and employers to thrive, now and into the future. I look forward to working with them to achieve our ambitions for Scotland’s tertiary education and research system.