Public Audit Committee
Scotland's colleges 2020: follow- up information request
Letter from the Convener to Joe Griffin, Director-General Education and Justice, Scottish Government, 6 December 2021
Dear Joe,
Scotland’s colleges 2020
Thank you for your letter of 29 October 2021 in which you provided a response to the Committee’s request of 1 October 2021 for additional information in respect of its scrutiny of the Auditor General for Scotland’s blog on Scotland’s Colleges 2020.
The Committee considered your letter at its meeting of 25 November 2021 and agreed to write to you again in respect of the following issues.
Timescales
The Committee ask that you provide timescales for the implementation of the recommendations that the Scottish Government is taking forward in respect of the Scottish Funding Council’s report on Coherence and Sustainability; A Review of Tertiary Education.
The Committee asks that you also provide timescales for the implementation of the actions set out in the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan, which is being overseen by the Scottish Government and the Skills Development Scotland Implementation Steering Group.
The Committee welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to review and strengthen its support for lifelong learning to ensure it is commensurate with the challenges facing the labour market; and notes its commitment to working closely with Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and other partners to develop this work over the coming months. Again, the Committee asks that you provide timescales for this work.
Submission from UNISON, Further Education Branch, October 2021
Following the Committee’s roundtable evidence session on 23 September 2021, the Committee received a written submission from UNISON. The submission highlights several challenges facing staff represented by UNISON, including poor terms of voluntary severance, the financial impact of colleges pursuing overseas markets and the fact that staff have not been compensated for their efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic while continuing to deliver services to students.
The Committee would welcome a response from you on the issues that have been raised by UNISON in its written submission, which can be found in the Annexe to this letter.
I would be grateful if you would provide a response to this letter by 17 January 2022.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Leonard MSP