Universities Scotland has commented today (12 January) following the publication of the Scottish Government’s response to the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Culture Committee’s Stage 1 Report on the Higher education Governance (Scotland) Bill.
A Universities Scotland spokersperson said:
“The Government’s response gives the strongest indication yet that it is minded to remove the sections of the Bill which we believed increased universities’ risk of a reclassification by ONS. A move to do so would be constructive and very welcome. We’re looking for the complete removal of section 8 and 13, rather than revisions, to give us the peace of mind we need on this.
“The Government has responded to some other issues in the Education Committee’s long list of concerns raised during its scrutiny of the Bill. However some confusion and gaps in the evidence base still remain in important parts of the Bill, including whether the proposals on the selection process for the Chair will actually improve what has already been recognised by Government as good governance in our universities. We intend to keep working with the Scottish Government and other members of Parliament.”
Notes
- Read the Education and Culture Committee’s Stage 1 report, and the Scottish Government’s response, in full.
- MSPs will debate the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Bill at Stage 1 this Thursday, 14 January from 2.00 pm in the Scottish Parliament.