The Scottish Government

[SEETLLD AGWG-P9]

REVIEW OF SCOTLAND'S COLLEGES

WORKING GROUP: ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOVERNANCE IN INCORPORATED COLLEGES

(You can download a pdf version of this document here)

DRAFT OUTLINE WORK PLAN

Purpose

1. To suggest a plan for the group to conclude its work.

Remit of the Group

2. The remit of the group is to "build on the work of previous reviews and examine the arrangements for accountability and governance in Incorporated Colleges including:

• the broader regulatory landscape in which colleges operate, and the potential overlap of jurisdictions;
• whether boards should be responsible for appointing their own membership, including the chair of the board;
• strengthening learner participation;
• enhancing the capacity of board members;
• whether the chair and other board members should be remunerated;
• the length of board membership for chairs of colleges;
• the roles of, and relationships between, the chair, board, principal to ensure maximum quality oversight, including the Board's ability to obtain independent advice and the roles, responsibilities and relationships of the Accountable Officer;
• whether there is a continuing need for powers of Ministerial intervention; and
• the composition of the boards, including whether more needs to be done to ensure diversity and the current statutory requirement for 50% of board members to have capacity in "industrial, commercial or employment matters or the practice of any profession"."

Future Steps

3. A paper has been prepared for the Group on the broader regulatory landscape in which colleges operate, and the potential overlap of jurisdictions. The Group has already reported on whether there is a continuing need for powers of Ministerial intervention. Also the Group is considering its research needs.

4. That said, there are matters specifically identified in the group's remit that could be considered separately from the research. These are:

• whether boards should be responsible for appointing their own membership, including the chair of the board;
• whether the chair and other board members should be remunerated;
• the length of board membership for chairs of colleges;
• the responsibilities and relationships of the Accountable Officer; and
• the current statutory requirement for 50% of board members to have capacity in "industrial, commercial or employment matters or the practice of any profession".

Consultation

5. The Group is invited to consider whether it would value consulting on some or all of these matters (and perhaps others) by seeking views from the organisations involved in the Review of Scotland's Colleges.

6. A short consultation paper could be drafted that outlines the issues within the context of the outcome of the previous review of Governance and Accountability and which outlines relevant new factors such as the enactment of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. A draft of such a paper would be available for the next meeting of the Group. Thereafter a six to eight week consultation exercise could be held.

7. Alternatively the Group could consider these issues at a future meeting or series of future meetings on the basis of papers prepared by the Secretariat.

8. We recommend that representatives from Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise be invited to attend the meeting of the Group which discusses the current statutory requirement for 50% of board members to have capacity in "industrial, commercial or employment matters or the practice of any profession", given that under the terms of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 one such person is nominated by the local enterprise company in the are in which a college resides.

Indicative Timetable for the Completion of the Group's Work

9. Given the delay in commissioning the Group's research. The timetable below envisages the Group's work being completed in January 2007.

10. The timetable below suggests that the Group should meet every month from now on, except in August.

Recommendations

11. We recommend that:

(a) a consultation paper be drafted (paragraph 6) and that a six week consultation be held;

(b) representatives from Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise be invited to attend the meeting of the Group which discusses the current statutory requirement for 50% of board members to have capacity in "industrial, commercial or employment matters or the practice of any profession" (paragraph 8); and

(c) the group meeting along the lines suggested above (paragraph 10).

Reviews Team: Scotland 's Colleges

April 2006