The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 768 contributions
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 21 June 2023
Willie Rennie
I have more questions, convener, just to follow up on that.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 21 June 2023
Willie Rennie
To be blunt, minister, I do not think that your predecessor did very much on the scheme. I welcome your putting new energy into it and making a commitment on the pilot. That is good news. However, the scale of the pilot will be important. Bob Doris and others have mentioned ensuring that youth work is included in it. If we are to learn enough from the pilot, we will need to include all the sectors. Can it be guaranteed that they will all be included?
I think that the system in Wales is run by Cardiff University. My second question therefore is: do you propose to commission some other organisation to run the Scottish pilot and the eventual scheme in the long run?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 21 June 2023
Willie Rennie
Okay. I had hoped that you would have an understanding as to why the approach has changed.
10:15Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 21 June 2023
Willie Rennie
Yes, but, at that point, they were further away from Government. The Office for National Statistics reclassification brought them closer to Government, so there was an opportunity to include them, but a decision was taken to separate them from bodies such as the Cairngorms National Park Authority, the Crofting Commission, the Risk Management Authority and Scottish Canals, which are bound by the policy. They are public sector bodies. Colleges are also public sector bodies, but a decision was taken to allow compulsory redundancies to take place. Surely, we must have an understanding as to why that happened.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 21 June 2023
Willie Rennie
That is unsatisfactory. I hope that you will write to us later on and give an explanation.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 21 June 2023
Willie Rennie
Okay—that is fine, convener.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 21 June 2023
Willie Rennie
When is the international education strategy going to be published?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 21 June 2023
Willie Rennie
Will you give us a bit more detail about when the pilot project will start?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 21 June 2023
Willie Rennie
At the forefront. Okay.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 21 June 2023
Willie Rennie
I want to follow up on the evolution of the no compulsory redundancy policy, which we discussed in the chamber last week. When Mike Russell was Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, he said:
“This party believes there is no place for compulsory redundancies in Scotland’s colleges.”
Subsequently, colleges got closer to Government, but they have been excluded from the no compulsory redundancy policy. Will you explain the rationale for that?