4th Report, 2008 (Session 3)

Annual Report 2007-08

Remit and membership

Remit:

To consider and report on (a) further and higher education, lifelong learning, schools, pre-school care, skills and other matters falling within the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning; and (b) matters relating to culture and the arts falling within the responsibility of the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture.

Membership:

Aileen Campbell
Rob Gibson (Deputy Convener)
Kenneth Macintosh
Christina McKelvie
Mary Mulligan
Jeremy Purvis
Elizabeth Smith
Karen Whitefield (Convener)

Committee Clerking Team:

Clerk to the Committee
Eugene Windsor

Senior Assistant Clerk
Nick Hawthorne

Assistant Clerk
Andrew Proudfoot

Committee Assistant
Paul Howell

Annual Report 2007-08

The Committee reports to the Parliament as follows—

Introduction

1. The Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee was established on 7 June 2007. Since then the Committee has acted as lead committee on two Scottish Government bills, scrutinised the Scottish Government budget 2008-09 and collected evidence and information on key aspects of its remit. The Committee held fact-finding visits to further education colleges, considered UK legislation under a Legislative Consent Memorandum, scrutinised twelve statutory instruments and examined four public petitions.

Inquiries and reports

Budget process 2008-09 (Stage 2)
2. The limited time available for budget scrutiny and the breadth of its remit led the Committee to decide to focus its attention on the further and higher education and skills aspects of the budget. The Committee appointed a budget adviser to aid its scrutiny and took oral evidence over the course of three meetings. The Committee reported to the Finance Committee on 16 January 2008.

Evidence sessions
3. At its meeting on 5 September 2007, the Committee agreed not to undertake any formal inquiries during the parliamentary year. It decided instead to collect evidence and information on a broad range of topics covered by the Committee’s remit to support its scrutiny of the Scottish Government.

4. The Committee has therefore held focused evidence taking sessions on a wide range of subjects. These have included:

• Scottish Government’s skills strategy
• Higher and further education funding and governance
• Work of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission
• Scotland’s built environment
• Scotland’s arts and culture
• Development of the creative industries in Scotland
• Issues related to the school estate
• Issues related to Curriculum for Excellence

Fact-finding visits
5. In November 2007, as part of its investigations into higher and further education funding and governance, the Committee visited Cumbernauld and Coatbridge colleges.

Bills

Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill
6. The Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill was introduced by the Scottish Government on 22 October 2007. Its main provision was to abolish graduate endowment for students graduating from 1 April 2007 onwards.

7. The Committee reported on the Bill at Stage 1. Following approval of the general principles of the Bill by the Parliament it returned to the Committee for Stage 2. The Bill completed its passage through the Parliament on 28 February 2008 and received Royal Assent on 4 April 2008.

Creative Scotland Bill
8. The Creative Scotland Bill was introduced by the Scottish Government on 12March 2008. It seeks to establish a new national cultural development body. Scrutiny of the Bill has attracted 59 written submissions.

Subordinate legislation and UK legislation

9. During the parliamentary year, the Committee considered a total of twelve Scottish Statutory Instruments (SSI), three under affirmative procedure and nine under negative procedure. The Committee also considered a Legislative Consent Memorandum on the UK Government’s Education and Skills Bill.

10. Prior to the Committee’s consideration of the draft Provision of School Lunches (Disapplication of the Requirement to Charge) (Scotland) (Order) 2007, the Committee took oral evidence on the Scottish Government’s free school meals pilot.

Petitions

11. Four petitions were referred to the Committee during the course of the parliamentary year. Two of these, on the subject of school closures, were originally considered in Session 2. The others are concerned with foreign languages teaching and class sizes.

Informal meetings

12. The Committee held a number of special events during the parliamentary year. It organised an informal seminar for MSPs with Professor Richard Tease, the principal author of the OECD report on schooling in Scotland.¹

13. The Convener met Jan Figel, EU Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, as part of his visit to Scotland.

Equalities

14. The Convener received a letter in January 2008 from the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Glasgow regarding the provision of a Panjabi language examination at S1-S6 level in Scottish schools. The letter explained how funding for this examination is no longer available and as a result it is no longer possible for pupils in Scotland to gain a qualification in Panjabi. The Committee wrote to the Scottish Qualifications Authority and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning seeking their views on the possible inclusion of Panjabi within the examination diet.

Meetings

15. During the parliamentary year (from 9 May 2007 to 8 May 2008), the Committee met 25 times. Of these meetings, none was held entirely in private. Eight were held partly in private. Of the meetings where some items were in private, the majority were to consider draft reports and approach papers.

16. All the meetings were held in Edinburgh.

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