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Colleges to keep charity status
30/10/2007
Scotland's colleges will continue to receive government support as a result of their key role in ensuring the nation's future economic prosperity, Education and Lifelong Learning Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop said today.
Speaking to representatives of the college sector at a conference in Lauder College, Ms Hyslop pledged government support to ensure colleges retain their charitable status.
She said:
"I want no-one to be in any doubt about our intention to ensure that colleges will remain as charities. There are different options available to us and we are reviewing these with the sector's stakeholders.
"This is an issue we want to resolve as quickly as we can and I intend to reach a decision by the end of December at the latest and commence any necessary legislative steps in the New Year."
Ms Hyslop also pointed to other evidence of government support for colleges, including:
- Promoting Excellence, the government's response to the Review of Scotland's Colleges report, which is published today.
- £60 million as part of the additional £100 million capital funding package for higher and further education announced last week.
She added:
"Colleges have a key role to play in this government's drive to build a self-confident, ambitious, outward-looking Scotland and we will support them in this key role.
"To achieve our aims, everyone must have the chance to develop their skills, enabling them to make a positive contribution to the nation's future.
"The Review of Scotland's Colleges report made clear that our colleges perform well in many areas. Our challenge now is to build on this firm foundation. By promoting excellence in all colleges and in all aspects of their work, we can ensure they better meet the needs of individuals, businesses and local communities."
The £100 million capital funding comes from a drawdown of Scottish Government of Scottish Government End-Year Flexibility balances held by the Treasury. The Scottish Funding Council has advised that £60 million of this money should be allocated to colleges. The investment is additional to any investment from the forthcoming spending review.
Principles and Priorities: the Government's Programme for Scotland, published in September, contained a pledge to introduce any necessary legislation to support a decision that the charitable status of colleges should be retained.
The review was undertaken to provide robust evidence and informed recommendations for change, to enable sound decisions to be taken about funding and equipping colleges to meet future demands.
All charities, including Scotland's colleges, are required to demonstrated to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) that they meet the new charity test, set out the in the 2005 Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act. In a pilot, on John Wheatley College, OSCR ruled that the college did not meet the charity test because its constitution permits Scottish Ministers to direct or otherwise control its activities. This ruling means none of Scotland's colleges would currently pass the charity test and is why ministers are reviewing the situation.