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Recognising the value of Scotland's colleges
06/06/2008
Scotland's colleges can deliver greater public value by joining in the new era of outcome-based performance, First Minister Alex Salmond said today.
The First Minister was speaking at the Association of Scotland's Colleges (ASC) Annual Conference in St Andrews, which brought together college principals, board members, unions, the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish Qualifications Authority, HMIE and the Scottish Government.
The First Minister's visit marks the first time a First Minister or Secretary of State has addressed an ASC conference, which gathered to to consider how the value of Scotland's colleges can be expressed and demonstrated.
The First Minister told delegates that the new social partnership approach set out by the Scottish Government, evidenced by the new Scotland Performs initiative and being developed in Local Outcome Agreements with local authorities, has the ability to the appreciation and development of wider public services.
The First Minister also took the opportunity to welcome the Association of Scotland's Colleges bold, strategic approach to maximising the value of its own performance - with plans being developed to merge with four other agencies into a new single-sector support agency, 'Scotland's Colleges'.
First Minister Alex Salmond said:
"Scotland's colleges are of great value to individuals, communities and businesses across Scotland. That's why last month the Scottish Government acted to to protect the charity status of colleges and to safeguard their constructive relationship with government.
"The natural fit between the Scottish Government and Scottish colleges is central to primary aim - to increase sustainable economic growth. It is evidenced by our shared drive towards simplified services and efficiency. A key principle of our Scottish skills strategy is building coherent and cohesive structures for skills development and delivery, and the Association of Scottish Colleges' plans to merge into a single sector support agency should help create real focus.
"Today's conference is an opportunity to celebrate the contribution Scotland's colleges make to our culture, confidence and our economy. It is also a chance to reflect on how best to prove our excellence and develop further.
"Scotland's new governance, built on dialogue and partnership, opens the way for Scotland's colleges to build closer relationships with local authorities through community planning partnerships, to influence local decisions and to develop with the needs of their local communities.
"I firmly believe that by putting service users at the heart of our efforts we can develop a language of performance that is meaningful, measurable and helps us to deliver continuous improvement."
ASC is the policy and representative voice of Scotland's Colleges. There are 43 Further Education Colleges across Scotland, providing education and training to almost 500,000 enrolements each year. The college sector is the largest provider of lifelong learning in Scotland.
The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, which came into force in April 2006, introduced a new statutory definition of a charity in Scotland as a 'body entered in the Register' - i.e. on the Scottish Charity Register.
Scotland's 39 incorporated colleges are currently registered as charities and are required to meet the charity test set out in the 2005 Act. However, section 7 of the Act states that a body does not meet the test if its constitution permits Scottish Ministers or a Minister of the Crown to direct or otherwise control its activities.
While colleges are independent of Government in their day-to-day activities, the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 gives Scottish Ministers the ability for example to alter college constitutions or amend college powers. OSCR has indicated that it considers that this constitutes Ministerial control.
Last month the Scottish Government laid an order making use of powers given to Ministers in the Charities Act to exempt colleges from the standard requirement that a charity must operate free of Ministerial control.