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Charitable status of colleges
26/01/2008
Plans aimed at ensuring that colleges retain their charitable status were announced today.
Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop has confirmed the government's wish to introduce legislation to ensure colleges and post-1992 universities can continue to qualify as charities. The value of charitable status is estimated to be worth up to £25 million per year to colleges across the country.
The charitable status of colleges was in doubt after the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator's review of John Wheatley College. The review concluded that current Ministerial powers over colleges were inconsistent with the requirement that charities should operate independently. This meant that Scotland's colleges were at risk of losing the benefits associated with charitable status
Ms Hyslop said:
"Scotland's colleges are key to achieving my aim to make Scotland smarter. They make a huge contribution to students, communities and the economic power of our nation. They need the benefits that come with charitable status to continue their vital work.
"That is why I wish to act to prevent them being stripped of their charitable status with the financial consequences that would follow. I hope that this security strengthens our colleges, so that they can get on with the important business of education."
Colleges in Scotland were at risk of losing their charitable status, following a recent decision by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
The government wishes to solve the problem by exempting colleges from the independence aspect of the charity test. Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop will invite comments from the Education and Justice Committees on the plans.
There is also a potential risk to the charitable status of the post-1992 universities due to Ministers' powers to close such institutions. The government aims to solve that problem by making any closure subject to the agreement of the governing body.