[SEETLLD AGWG-P17 (a) final]
REVIEW OF SCOTLAND'S COLLEGES
WORKING GROUP: ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOVERNANCE
Public Sector Evaluation and Monitoring of Scotland's Colleges
Introduction
In academic year 2006-07 Scotland's colleges will receive £596 million of public funds. Scotland's colleges are held to account for the use of this money. This paper outlines the various evaluation and monitoring procedures that are in place to ensure that public funds are used to provide both value and quality of further education provision in Scotland. It is provided to assist the Review of Scrutiny of Public Services, being chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar. It is also intended to assist the work the Accountability and Governance Working Group of the Review of Scotland's Colleges.
It is recognised that a large part of the work Professor Crerar's review will rightly focus on the functions and number of Scottish public service regulatory organisations. However, for practical reasons it will probably not be possible to reduce the number of such organisations to the minimum that many stakeholders might desire and the constraints of parliamentary time will limit the speed at which changes can be introduced. It is therefore suggested that a key part of Professor Crerar's work should be to investigate the potential for 'credit transfer' between different regulatory organisations as a practical way of eliminating duplication without the need for legislative changes. A good example of this is provided in the section below on the Scottish Funding Council. A statutory example is the duty on the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator to secure co-operation between it and other relevant regulators.
It may also interest the Scrutiny Review Team to note that in December 2005 the UK Cabinet Office published the report 'Reducing Burdens in Colleges of Further Education'. The report was the result of a project that looked at the bureaucratic burdens on front line staff and to identify how those burdens affected their ability to deliver their core duties and responsibilities. The report made a number of recommendations for improvement around reducing unnecessary bureaucracy to ensure that front line staff in colleges can be as effective as possible.
A copy of the full report can be found at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/documents/pdf/fe_report.pdf#search=%22cabinet%20office%20report%20reducing%20burden%20in%20Colleges%20of%20further%20education%22
The following detailed descriptions of evaluation and monitoring bodies have been divided into two categories: Bodies with a Public Sector Remit; and Bodies with a College/Education Specific Remit.
Public Sector Remit
Audit Scotland
The purpose of Audit Scotland, under the Public Finance and Accountability Act 2000, is to help the Auditor General and Audit Committee to make sure organisations that spend public money in Scotland use it properly, efficiently and effectively. In order to do this Audit Scotland (or accounting firms appointed by the Auditor General) carry out examinations of financial accounts to check whether public bodies, such as incorporated colleges:
· manage their finances to the highest standards; and
· achieve the best possible value for public money
The audit reports also comment on corporate governance, which includes the arrangements for internal audit (see below), risk management and internal controls.
The Auditor General is responsible for auditing the accounts of Scotland's colleges annually. The Auditor General compiles all the accounts along with a covering letter from the Auditor General stating his opinion on the state of the accounts and also highlighting any concerns. The Scottish Executive lays these before the Parliament. A copy of the college accounts and the Auditor General's covering letter is then scrutinised by the Parliament's Audit Committee.
In practice the Audit Committee has tended to hold inquiries into any issues raised in the reports by the Auditor General for Scotland.
The Auditor General produced a document called 'SFEFC - Performance Management of the FE Sector' in September 2003 which made a series of recommendations to the Scottish Funding Council about the tightening of financial management within the college sector. In his most recent report, 'Scottish Further Education Funding Council: A progress report', the Auditor General commented that "financial stewardship in colleges is sound" and that "good progress has been made on the campaign for financial security, with the sector operating surplus continuing to rise and the number of colleges in deficit falling".
For further information see website at http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/.
Care Commission
One of the main drivers for the creation of the Care Commission was the need to improve consistency in the application of standards and regulations across Scotland. The Care Commission regulates all registers care services in Scotland. This involves four core activities: registration, inspection, investigating complaints and taking enforcement activity, where required.
We register and inspect services against a set of National Care Standards. The standards outline the quality of service that care service users have the right to expect. They have been developed with the intention that the quality of care provided and received throughout Scotland will be consistent. The standards also ensure that all care services will be measured against a set of general principles. We produce inspection reports for each service once an inspection has taken place.
Scotland's Colleges as providers of childcare facilities are required to register as with the Care Commission and their facilities are subsequently inspected.
For further information see website at http://www.carecommission.com/.
Children and Young People's Commissioner
The general function of the Commissioner is to promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people. The definition of children and young people is those up to and including young people of 18 years of age.
The Commissioner's primary responsibilities are to generate widespread awareness and understanding of the rights of children and young people; consider and review the adequacy and effectiveness of any law, policy and practice as it relates to children and young people; promote best practice by service providers; and commission and undertake research on matters relating to the rights of children and young people.
Under section 1 of the Commissioner for Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2003 the Commissioner can carry out an investigation into whether, by what means, a service provider has regard to the rights, interests and views of young people in making decisions or taking actions that affect those children and young people. As Scotland's colleges offer programmes and courses to people under 18 they could be investigated within the scope of this legislation.
For further information see website at http://www.sccyp.org.uk/.
Disclosure Scotland
The Disclosure service was launched on 29 April 2002. This introduced a system of disclosing criminal history information to individuals and organisations for employment and other purposes. Disclosure Scotland offers three levels of disclosure - Basic; Standard;and Advanced.
The highest level of Disclosure is the Enhanced Disclosure. This type of Disclosure is available to -
- those who apply for work that regularly involves caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of children or adults at risk;
- applicants for various gaming and lottery licences;
- those seeking judicial appointment;
- applicants for registration for child minding, day care and to act as foster parents or carers.
All staff in Scotland's colleges are subject to disclosure checks with all teaching staff are subject to enhanced disclosures which as of July 1 2006 cost to organisations £13.60 - £20.00 depending on level of disclosure per application.
For further infromation see website at http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk/aboutds.htm.
European Structural Funds - Verification and Compliance
Article 38 of EU Council Regulation 1260/99 obliges Members to take the necessary measure to:
- verify on a regular basis that operations financed by the Community have been properly carried out;
- prevent and take action against irregularities; and
- recover any amounts lost as a result of an irregularity or negligence.
The Scottish Executive is responsible for the proper implementation of the European Social Fund and related Community Initiatives in Scotland. Scottish Executive officials subsequently undertake on-the-spot visits to applicant organisations to ensure that delivery of the project is consistent with the details specified in the approved application form.
The three main areas that officials look at are:
- actual, that the expenditure claimed actually has been defrayed and the percentages for the ESF financial contribution have been applied properly;
- consistence, that the project is line with the Programme Complement and the expenditure claimed was relevant to the project; and
- eligible, that the project conforms to ESF and EC guidance and was defrayed against ESF activity delivered during the period approved; to ensure that all receipts arising from the activity are taken into account, e.g. project income generated has been declared.
As recipients of European Social Funds Scotland's Colleges are subject to on-the-spot visits verification and compliance visits.
For further information see website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/support/17404/10514.
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive audit Scotland's colleges to ensure adequate risk assessment has taken place and that they have appropriate structures for health and safety in place.
For further information see website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/index.htm.
HM Revenue and Customs
Organisations recognised as charities by the Charity Commission, Office Scottish Charity Regulator or Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs by either registration as charities or by exemption from registration are eligible for charity VAT reliefs.
Scotland's colleges as Charities are eligible to apply for exemption from income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax as registered Charities. As part of the monitoring process HM Revenue and Customs send out, on a random basis, self-assessment tax returns for Charities to complete.
However, to qualify for the exemptions Scotland's colleges must each register with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
For further information see website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/.
Local Authorities - Environmental Health
Environmental health work is concerned with the maintenance of a healthy and safe environment in the home, at work and during recreation. Environmental health officers inspect and advise on housing conditions and on the clearance of unfit properties. Atmospheric pollution and smoke control are also areas where they work in co-operation with other pollution control agencies.
An increasingly vital part of Environmental Health work is food hygiene in all the places where it is prepared or sold, together with meat and other food inspection and the safety of water supplies. Environmental Health Officers duties also include the control of communicable diseases in conjunction with the local health authority, noise control, and often inspections concerned with the safety and welfare of non-industrial workers.
Enforcing legislation through the courts is a last resort and officers will be closely involved in collecting evidence and preparing the case. Much of their work is advisory, visiting all types of premises.
College institutions are places of work, operate as learning facilities, have residential accommodation and most colleges have some sort of canteen or café facility they are subject to Environmental Health Inspections.
For further information see website at http://www.lgjobs.com/profiles/enviromentalhealth.cfm.
Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator
From April 2006 all incorporated colleges in Scotland, as registered Charities, fell within the remit of the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR). The purpose of the Regulator is to develop a flourishing charities sector in Scotland in which the public has confidence.
OSCR's general functions are to:
- determine whether bodies are charities;
- keep a public register of charities;
- encourage, facilitate and monitor compliance by charities with provisions of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 to identify and investigate apparent misconduct in the administration of charities and to take remedial or protective action in relation to such misconduct; and
- give information or advice, or make proposals, to Scottish Ministers on matters relating to OSCR's functions.
In addition, OSCR will have powers of supervision over all charities on the Scottish Charities Register - these include powers to make inquiries, protect assets and suspend those in control or management if suspected of misconduct.
Colleges are also required to keep proper accounting records, prepare for each financial year of the charity a statement of account, have the statement of account independently examined or audited and after such an examination or audit, send a copy of the statement of account to OSCR. Board Members will also have to comply with the general duty guidelines for charity trustees.
For further information see website at http://www.oscr.org.uk/.
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
The remit of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman was extended in October 2005 to include all of Scotland's colleges.
The Ombudsman now has the power to conduct an investigation about a college if it receives a complaint from an aggrieved student that has already exhausted the internal complaints systems within the college.
The Ombudsman's remit is governed by statute. In particular, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 (as amended by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005) sets out, among other things, matters which may be investigated and matters that must not be investigated. The Act also makes provision for who may complain to the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman will in principle be able to investigate complaints from aggrieved persons (including from students, staff and members of the public) that they have sustained injustice or hardship as a result of maladministration or service failure. Maladministration is generally taken to mean a failure in administrative procedures or processes, and service failure, as defined in statute, as "any fialure in service provided by the authority, or any failure of the auhtority to provide a service which it was the function of the authority to provide". Accordingly service failure does not cover discretionary decisions by an authority such as decisions whether to provide a service which an authority is not statutorily required to provide or decisions on how to provide a service.
In the light of the production of exceptional evidence the 2002 Act permits the Ombudsman to deal with:
- complaints which could be taken to court or to an independent tribunal, but not if proceedings have begun
- complaints made more than 12 months after the day on which the complainant found out about the matter.
Whether or not the Ombudsman will investigate a complaint will be considered on a case by case basis.
For futher information see website at http://www.scottishombudsman.org.uk/about/.
Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
SEPA is the public body which is responsible for the protection of the environment in Scotland. IT is tasked with protecting the land, air and water - the core elements that form the fabric of the environment. The agency works in partnership with others, and in a way that enables Scotland to sustain a strong and diverse economy.
The areas of SEPA regulation that impact on colleges cover the following areas:
- water;
- waste management; and
- radioactive substances.
Furthermore, SEPA is now encouraging organisations to develop and use environmental management systems that help control the environmental impact of their activities.
For further information see website at http://www.sepa.org.uk/.
(Proposed) Scottish Human Rights Commissioner
The Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 7 October 2005 and is currently at Stage 1. This Bill provides that the proposed Commissioner will be accountable to the Scottish Parliament but will not deal with reserved matters.
It is proposed that the Commissioner will offer the following services:
- review aspects of Scots law and monitor the policies and practices of Scottish public authorities, and make recommendations for change;
- publish information on human rights;
- provide guidance, education or training;
- conduct research;
- offer advice to the courts on human rights issues in civil proceedings;
- advise the Scottish Parliament on legislation; and
- inquire into public authorities' policies and practices.
Colleges are public authorities and therefore will fall within the remit of the proposed Scottish Human Rights Commissioner.
As the Bill is currently drafted the Commissioner will not be able to investigate, support or rule in individual cases.
Scottish Information Commissioner
Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 public bodies such as Scotland's colleges are subject to:
- a right of wide general access to their information, subject to clearly defined exemptions and conditions;
- a requirement to consider discretionary disclosure in the public interest even when an exemption applies;
- a duty to publish information; and
- powers of enforcement through an independent Scottish Information Commissioner and an Information Tribunal.
As with all public bodies the Information Commisioner has the right to review all FOI requests that the requester feels have been unadequately dealt with.
For further information see website at http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/.
Standards Commission for Scotland
The Commission is committed to high ethical standards in public life through the promotion and enforcement of Codes of Conduct for councillors (approved by the Scottish Parliament) and those appointed to devolved public bodies (approved by the Scottish Ministers).
Members of incorporated college Boards of Management are within the scope of the work of the Scottish Standards Commissioner. College Boards are therefore expected to work within the realms of the guidance set. Having consulted on its draft proposals, the Commission has issued guidance on:
Part A - The New Ethical Framework: The Relationship between the Standards Commission and Public Bodies.
Part B - The Duties of Public Bodies to promote high standards of conduct.
Part C - The Registration of Interests.
For further information see website at http://www.standardscommissionscotland.org.uk/.
UK Information Commissioner
The UK Information Commissioner, who is different from the Scottish Information Commissioner, has responsibility throughout the UK for data protection. One of the Assistant Commissioners specifically deals with data protection as it relates to Scotland. The Data Protection Act 1998 requires that all bodies that process personal data notify the UK Information Controller as to the type of data they process and for what purposes. Bodies are then added to the public list of Data Controllers. As all of Scotland's Colleges process personal data on both students and staff they must be registered with the UK Information Commissioner as Data Controllers.
Data controllers must comply with the following Data Protection Principles.
Personal Data must be:
· fairly and lawfully processed;
· processed for limited purposes;
· adequate, relevant and not excessive to the purpose of the processing;
· accurate;
· not kept longer than necessary;
· processed in accordance with the data subject's rights;
· held securely; and
· not transferred to countries without adequate protection.
For further information sees website at http://www.ico.gov.uk/eventual.aspx.
COLLEGE/EDUCATION SPECIFIC REMIT
Further and Higher Education ( Scotland ) Act 1992
Under the 1992 Act Scottish Ministers still retain the following powers:
Regulation of Boards of Management
Section 12 - sets out the power of a College's board of management
Direct Powers of Ministers
Section 12(6) - require information to be provided for the purpose of exercising Ministerial powers under Part I of the Act.
Order Making Powers of Ministers
Section 3(1) - establish a new college; merge colleges; and close colleges.
Section 3(5) - amend the constitution and proceedings of boards of management (Schedule 2 to the Act)
Section 12(8) - amend the powers of colleges
Section 24(1) - remove board members because of mismanagement
Section 25(1) - powers connected with the closure of a college
Regulation Making Powers of Ministers
Section 3(6) - prescribe requirements which boards of management must comply
Section 27(1) - require the publication of certain information
Consent of Ministers Required
Section 3(4) - change of name of college
Section 12(7) - enable a college to borrow money or materially change a college's character. (This power is delegated to the Scottish Funding Council through its Financial Memorandum).
Constitution and Proceedings of Boards of Management
Schedule 2 - sets out the requirements in terms of membership, term of appointments and proceedings of incorporated college's Board of Management.
For further information see Act at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1992/Ukpga_19920037_en_1.htm
Further and Higher Education ( Scotland ) Act 2005
Section 6 "Fundable bodies" sets out the criteria for fundable bodies in Scotland. Scotland's colleges must comply with these conditions in order to remain on the Schedule 2 list that details all of Scotland's fundable bodies.
Section 12 "Funding of fundable bodies" This section sets out the terms and conditions under which the Council can make grants to fundable bodies, including the conditions that may be imposed in relation to recovery of grant.
For further information see Act at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2005/20050006.htm.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) has both a Memorandum of Understanding and an Annual Service Level Agreement with the Scottish Funding Council that describe the services that are to be provided by HMIE in respect of the quality monitoring of further education provision in all of Scotland's colleges. The following services are provided:
College Reviews - HMIE will undertake and report on Scotland's colleges. Colleges that are to be reviewed by HMIE are agreed between the funding council and HMIE on an annual basis. The college review is comprised of four key concepts:
1. learning and teaching process
The central and most important process in colleges is learning and all that facilitates it including the relevance of programmes; the quality of teaching; the quality of learning materials; the adequacy of staff, materials, equipment and the physical environment; and the impact of assessment.
2. learner progress and outcomes
This element gives consideration of outcomes such as personal and learning skills and employability, and recognition of 'distance travelled' in learning are essential for a comprehensive evaluation of learner progress and achievement.
3. leadership and quality management
The quality elements assessed are those that reflect the capacity of the college to support the quality of the student experience. They include educational leadership, access and inclusion, guidance and support, resources and services to the learner, quality assurance and quality improvement.
4. the follow through phase
The follow through review will be differentiated so that in each college it is proportionate to the strengths and points for development. The follow through phase may be at any point on the scale from 'light touch' to 'comprehensive'.
Follow Up Reviews - Each academic year follow-up reviews are undertaken on some of the colleges which were reviewed in the previous review cycle. It is for the Scottish Funding Council to determine whether, when and how HMIE should conduct follow- up reviews.
Aspect Reports - During the course of an academic year, colleges are subject to aspect reports. HMIE build on existing evidence collated through reviews by carrying out necessary fieldwork to produce sector wide reports on different dimensions of college life, for example:
- Student Representation (report can be accessed at http://www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/Student%20Representation%20in%20Scottish%20FECs.pdf);
- Preparation of learners for Citizenship; and
- Planning, designing and delivering the FE curriculum.
It should be noted that the implementation of child protection safeguards are monitored by HMIE as part of College Reviews.
For further information see website at http://www.hmie.gov.uk/hmie.asp.
Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council
The Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC) is the body that distributes funding for teaching and learning, research and other activities in Scotland's colleges and universities. There are 43 colleges and 20 higher education institutions in Scotland funded by SFC.
The Council also has responsibility to:
- provide advice to Scottish Ministers on the needs of the further and higher education sectors and on other policy and funding issues that are relevant to further education and higher education;
- work with the sectors to develop coherent strategies in support of Ministerial priorities and ensure that there is coherent provision of high quality FE and HE;
- ensure that the quality of provision in colleges is assessed and enhanced (this element is fulfilled through the service level agreement with HMIE discussed earlier);
- monitor the financial health of the colleges and universities;
- support management and governance in colleges and universities by providing guidance and disseminating good practice on many issues;
- facilitates and supports desirable strategic change in the sectors; and
- establishes targets and indicators of performance, and gathers evidence and data to monitor progress.
The Council is required by the Executive to have an audit service and to operate effective monitoring systems. The Council must be able to demonstrate that the public funds they distribute are being used for the purposes for which they are given and also that there has been compliance with any conditions that are attached.
The Financial Memorandum which the Council has agreed with each college and university sets out the formal relationship between the Council and each institution. It outlines how each institution accounts for its use of funds derived from Scottish Ministers and is founded on the ability of local governing bodies to best ensure that best value is secured these funds.
The Governance and Management: Appraisal and Policy (GMAP) Directorate of the Council is responsible for supporting the Council's objectives in securing excellence in leadership and management as well as sound financial health for all colleges and universities. In relation to financial health, the Directorate seeks to support colleges and universities through:
- meeting with institutions to best understand their financial strategies and, in relation to current developments, to sign-post experiences in other institutions that could be usefully drawn upon;
- working with institutions, support networks and the FE Development Directorate to help institutions successfully address threats to their sustainability, including support for sector-wide initiatives (for example, costing and pricing in the university sector and the financial benchmarking project in the college sector); and
- receiving strategic and financial plans and reports to monitor sustainability.
The external audit of colleges is the statutory responsibility of the Auditor General for Scotland (as described above).
All colleges have an internal audit function to provide their boards of management with an objective assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of internal control systems. The work is undertaken on a cyclical basis and covers financial operations, resources, staff, services and responsibilities to other bodies. Copies of the audit committee's annual report and the internal audit annual report are provided to the SFC.
Other support activities: The Council also supports several agencies and initiatives that help colleges by identifying and disseminating good practice, including: the College Boards of Management Development Programme; the Coordinating Health and Safety in Tertiary Education (CHASTE) project; Equality Forward; the work of the Joint Information Systems Committee in Scotland; Leading & Learning - College Leadership Continuing Professional Development; the Scottish Further Education Unit;. Student Participation in Quality Scotland (SPARQS); and the four wider access regional forums.
Credit transfer and quality assurance: The Council actively supports developments to reduce the accountability burden on colleges. It does so by continuously reviewing its processes to minimise unnecessary duplication between its activities and other agencies. For example, it now no longer conducts detailed reviews of audit and governance arrangements because similar work is conducted by colleges' external and internal auditors. The most significant development in this area has been the agreement of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise that, with effect from September 2006, Scotland's colleges will no longer be expected to demonstrate compliance with quality assurance processes associated with the Scottish Quality Management System (SQMS) standards as a contractual requirement for funding of vocational training by Local Enterprise Companies. Full details are provided in the Council's Circular SFC/27/06, published on 21 April 2006.
For further information see website at http://www.sfc.ac.uk/.
Scottish Qualifications Authority
The main Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) functions in relation to the monitoring of Scotland's colleges are to accredit qualifications and approve education and training establishments as being suitable for entering people for these qualifications; and to maintain quality assurance of SQA accredited education delivery.
There are two stages involved in the approval of an institution. The first is the approval of a centre. As Scotland's colleges are publicly funded they are exempt from this process. The second stage deals with the approval to offer specific qualifications. At this stage the assessors' and internal moderators' qualifications and experience; the internal moderation system; resources; and assessment material are all considered.
The exception to the process above is when colleges opt to become institutions which practice devolved authority. This gives them the ability to approve themselves to offer individual qualifications and they can also have the ability to develop their own courses using the SQA's units.
The process of the quality assurance of education and training establishments which offer SQA qualifications is known as Quality Audit.
Quality Audits take place on a 15 month rolling programme. Currently the Audit is done by reviewing information held centrally by the SQA on individual institutions and producing a profile document for each individual college. A committee reviews the information and develop an Audit Report containing both required actions and development recommendations that the college is required to undertake to improve quality. Individual institutions then have the opportunity to check their college profile document for factual accuracy, following this the Audit report is bound and published.
If the SQA feels that a profile document highlights a risk to quality of courses then they would send a quality auditor to the institution for a site visit. The report from this visit would then feed into the Audit Report.
It should be noted that the SQA is currently contributing to discussions on developing quality criteria implementation with SFEU, HMIE and Scottish Quality Management System (SQMS). SQA is keen to develop a partnership model that would see them working with colleges to ensure quality. Consultation has begun and the college sector is aware that this is underway and has been engaged in relevant workshops to date.
For further information see website at www.sqa.org.uk.
Other Awarding Bodies:
Colleges also offer courses that are approved by external bodies. Colleges are therefore subject to a rigorous validation porcess before any courses can be delivered and they are subject to to regular reviews. Some of the other agencies involved in assuring the level of quality in coursework include the Engineering and Marine Trades Association, Community Education Validation and Endorsement, City and Guilds and the Construction Industry Training Body.)
The Education (Additional Support for Learning) ( Scotland ) Act 2004
The Act determines that all local authorities, any NHS board, Careers Scotland, all Colleges of Further Education and all institutions of Higher Education, in Scotland, are appropriate agencies for the purpose of the Act.
An appropriate agency must help the education authority in the exercise of any of its functions under this Act, if requested to do so by the education authority, unless the request is incompatible with the agency's own statutory duties or unduly prejudices the agencies discharge of its own functions.
The primary responsibility of Scotland's colleges is to ensure that there are no barriers to any individual accessing further education provision.
ANNEX A
Comprehensive list of legislation applicable to Scotland's Colleges
This paper up to now has concentrated on regulations/regulators that have evaluation and monitoring procedures in place to ensure that public funds are used to provide both value and quality of further education provision in Scotland. Below, however is a comprehensive list of all Scottish, UK and EU legislation that is applicable to Scotland's Colleges.
Applicable Legislation/Governing Documents
As a College of Further Education
- Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005
- Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992
As a Public Sector Body
- The Ethical Standards in Public Life (Scotland) Act 2000
- Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000
As a Charity
- Electronic Communications Act June 2000
- The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000
- Computer Misuse Act 1990
General
- Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
- The Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988
- EU Copyright Directive 2001
- The Local Authorities (Goods and Services) Act 1970 (supply of goods and services by local authorities to certain public bodies)
- European Procurement Rules
As an Employer
- Employment Act 2002
- Employment Rights Act 1996
- Data Protection Act 1998
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
- National Minimum Wage Act 1998
- Trade Union and Labour Relations Acts 1992 and 1999
- Employment Relations Act 1999
- Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
- The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
- Human Rights Act
- Employment Rights Dispute Resolution Act 1998
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (amends Disability Discrimination Act 1995)
- Equal Pay Act 1970
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- Race Relations Act 1976
- The Employment Equality Regulations 2003, 2004 & 2005
- The Equal Treatment Directive
- Working Time Regulations 1998
- The Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999
- Sex discrimination (gender reassignment) Regulations 1999
- Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000
- The Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) Regulations 2000
- Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002
- Flexible Working Regulations 2002
- Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005