[SEETLLD JRT- M03]
THE ROUNDTABLE FORUM
TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2006 , VICTORIA QUAY, EDINBURGH
MINUTES OF FE-SPECIFIC SESSION
Present: Tom Kelly, ASC
Howard McKenzie, ASC
Penny Neish, ASC
Roger McClure, SFC
Martin Fairbairn, SFC
David Wann, SFC
Fiona Bates, SFC
Matthew Lancashire, NUS Scotland
Tim Goodwin, NUS Scotland
Natale Craig, NUS Scotland
Mary Senior, STUC
Marian Healy, STUC
Douglas Black, STUC
Aileen McKechnie, Scottish Executive (in the Chair)
George Reid, Scottish Executive
Col Baird, Scottish Executive
Anna Kynaston, Scottish Executive
Margaret McLachlan, Scottish Executive
Apologies: Ian Macpherson, ASC
Laurence Howells, SFC
Welcome by Aileen McKechnie, Head of Further and Adult Education Division
Aileen McKechnie welcomed participants to the third meeting of the joint Roundtable and apologised for the last minute change of accommodation. She asked all present to note that Sue Pinder would no longer be attending Roundtable for the ASC. Sue had attended previous meetings as Vice Chair of the ASC and has resigned from the ASC Board to take on the role of Convenor of ASC Principals' Forum. As the new Vice Chair of ASC, Howard McKenzie is now an ASC representative at Roundtable meetings. Aileen extended her thanks to Sue for her valuable contribution to the forum over recent years and welcomed new delegates to the Roundtable.
Minutes of last meeting
Minutes of the previous meeting were agreed without amendment.
Agenda item 1 - Action Point Arising from Previous Meeting
- "ASC agreed to report back on progress at the next meeting [on HR Best Practice Project]"
This would be discussed under item 3 of the agenda.
Agenda Item 2 - Review of Scotland 's Colleges (RoSCo)
Col Baird gave an update on the Review. He explained that all four workstreams remained on track for completion of work early in 2007.
The 'Difference Colleges Make' working group's report 'Unlocking Opportunity' and an A5 summary document would be formally launched by the Deputy First Minister at a Conference being held at the Hilton Grosvenor, Glasgow on 3 October. This working group is now looking at the 'Difference Colleges Could Make'.
The Accountability and Governance workstream was due to meet next on 6 October. DTZ has been commissioned to carry out research into college governance issues and to identify good practice. Findings are expected around the middle of October.
The Staffing, Learners and Learning Environment (SLALE) Working Group has similarly been making good progress on the different aspects of its remit. The main group of SLALE has been discussing the overall student experience and in particular student representation; and estates issues. From these discussions a draft report has gone to the RoSCo Core Group for approval. A sub-group of SLALE has been discussing the continuous professional development needs of all staff; the numbers of staff who are teacher trained; and associated costs. STUC asked that the Executive follow up the action point from May's meeting regarding the issue of Governance Standards by referring it back to the SLALE Working Group for discussion, as agreed. ACTION POINT: EXECUTIVE to ensure the issue of Governance Standards is raised within the remit of the SLALE Working Group.
The Strategic Futures Working Group also remains on track. As part of the information gathering phase of its work, two 'open space' events were held with a view to examining the future of FE and HE. The working group is now developing futures scenarios and will hold a further workshop next week. Discussion of the implications of these scenarios will take place in November.
Agenda Item 3 - Update HR 'Best Practice' Project
ASC informed members that the report had now been signed off by Principals. As the report will continue to have the status of a 'working document' there will be no formal launch.
SFEU's HR Community of Practice annual conference will be held in November and will provide an opportunity to disseminate the work of the HR steering group on strategic developments. The steering group has been in discussion with the unions both nationally and locally regarding dissemination and training. It was anticipated that training events would take place around January.
Agenda Item 4 - Audit Committee Report on Inverness College
The Executive had submitted a response to the Parliament's Audit Committee on 6 September accepting all of the Committee's recommendations. The response was made on behalf of the Executive, the SFC and Inverness College.
In line with the response, SFC has been working with ASC to look at issues such as the training of Board Members and how this will be assured. The SFC's thinking was that it may be more appropriate for the records themselves to be kept locally, with training overseen and certified annually to SFC by the Board Chair. The STUC and NUS Scotland considered that both staff and student representatives on the Board should be included in all training.
The STUC felt that there would be benefits in being able to access centrally records of training. The SFC commented that it would be difficult for it to assess the adequacy of the training of every board member simply by reviewing returns from colleges. It would be more effective, and would better meet the central concern of the Audit Committee, if there were effective arrangements for Board Chairs to review and certify, on an annual basis, that proper and adequate training had taken place. ASC was to discuss this item further at the Chairs Forum on 5 October.
A number of the Audit Committee's recommendations would also be discussed by the Accountability and Governance working group of RoSCo.
Agenda Item 5 - Efficient Government
The Executive once again stressed the importance of the documentation of efficiencies, particularly as the Spending Review draws closer. RoSCo is progressing with the documentation of sector efficiencies but members were reminded that they must constantly strive to build on this information.
Agenda Item 6 - Spending Review
Members were reminded of the key messages contained in the First Minister's speech at the launch of Edinburgh's Telford College new campus. RoSCo continues to work hard to provide strong robust evidence for the College sector. The SLALE work on estates will also be important to this.
ASC considered that the outcome of the Spending Review would have to take account of staff pay increases necessary as a result of equal pay requirements. STUC indicated that it would be happy to participate in any aspect of work related to the promotion of equal pay. STUC considered that issues such as equal pay should be dealt with at a national level.
Agenda Item 7 - A.O.B
None
Close
Aileen McKechnie brought the session to a close and thanked members for their concise contributions.
THE ROUNDTABLE FORUM
TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2006 , VICTORIA QUAY, EDINBURGH
MINUTES OF JOINT SESSION
Present: Tom Kelly, ASC
Howard McKenzie, ASC
Penny Neish, ASC
Sir Muir Russell, US
David Caldwell, US
Roger McClure, SFC
Martin Fairbairn, SFC
David Wann, SFC
Fiona Bates, SFC
Matthew Lancashire, NUS Scotland
Tim Goodwin, NUS Scotland
Natale Craig, NUS Scotland
David Bleiman, STUC
Mary Senior, STUC
Marian Healy, STUC
Douglas Black, STUC
Aileen McKechnie, Scottish Executive (in the Chair)
George Reid, Scottish Executive
Col Baird, Scottish Executive
Anna Kynaston, Scottish Executive
Alex Young, Scottish Executive
Margaret McLachlan, Scottish Executive
Apologies: Ian Macpherson, ASC
Sue Pinder, ASC
Laurence Howells, SFC
Welcome
Aileen McKechnie extended a welcome to colleagues from the HE sector who had now joined the meeting.
Minutes of last meeting
Minutes of the previous meeting were agreed subject to the following amendments:
Item 4
- The Funding Council's name should be added to the list of suggested participants at the autumn meeting to discuss international issues.
Item 6
- The action point 'ASC, STUC and US to liaise with the co-ordinator of the CHASTE project' should be deleted.
Agenda Item 1 - Action Points Arising from Previous Meeting
Item 4
- "Scottish Executive to set up a meeting for the purpose of discussing international issues in the autumn of 2006."
This would be discussed under agenda item 2.
Item 6
- "ASC, STUC and US to liaise with the co-ordinator of the CHASTE project."
This action point had now been deleted from the previous meeting minute and would not therefore be discussed.
Item 7
- SFC to investigate references to Barrhead College.
The SFC informed members that 'Barrhead College' was in fact a local authority initiative comprising a shared outreach facility being run in partnership with Cardonald College, Reid Kerr College and Langside College. The local authority had now agreed that the term 'college' would not be included in the name of the centre. There would be no direct funding by SFC of this project. However, some capital funding might ultimately be sought for the facility via the colleges involved.
Agenda Item 2 - International
There were a number of items raised under this section of the agenda. Members raised concerns over the apparent misalignment of qualification requirements under UK-managed migration and the Fresh Talent initiative. Members were concerned that this may lead to some dilution of the Fresh Talent initiative, which would be unfortunate given its apparent success.
It was brought to members' attention that there continued to be problems in relation to the ability of some students to obtain visas. The Executive agreed to raise this with the Home Office.
The SFC highlighted the inability of colleges to meet the demand for courses by a number of migrant workers. The demand was not just for ESOL but also other courses. The SFC considered that EU migrants should not be seen as a problem but as an opportunity. The SFC agreed to send the Executive evidence of unmet demand for courses by migrant workers.
The Executive stated that the Deputy First Minister had agreed a date to discuss Internationalisation with stakeholders - members were informed that this meeting would have to be restricted in numbers. The date identified was the 9 November and invitations would be issued shortly.
STUC noted their concern about not being consulted on the Scottish Executive's China strategy particularly since the strategy has helped to shape the HE/FE International strategy. However, the STUC recognised that there would be an opportunity to comment on the HE/FE International Strategy in due course.
Action: Executive to discuss with the Home Office the issue of delays with visas under the Fresh Talent initiative.
Action: The SFC agreed to provide evidence of unmet demand for courses by migrant workers.
Agenda Item 3 - Update on 'Strategic Futures' Work
Members were updated on how the HE side of the Strategic Futures agenda would be taken forward. The FE and HE teams within the ETLLD group were working closely on Strategic Futures. It was explained that four possible scenarios would be drawn up. These would be generic and were not intended to indicate any view of the future of FE or HE. The work would look at the implications of the scenarios for FE and HE. The scenarios would be shared with both sectors. The FE Futures work is due to report in early spring 2007. It was expected that the report of the HE Strategic Futures would be published in late spring 2007.
NUS Scotland indicated that due to staff changes they had been unable to take up the opportunity of discussing Strategic Futures with the Review team and asked if it would be possible to re-organise a meeting. Col Baird, as leader of the Review team, said that he would welcome their views and would organise a mutually convenient date.
Action: Executive to set up a meeting with NUS Scotland to discuss Strategic Futures.
Agenda Item 4 - Lifelong Learning
Refresh of Scottish Executive's Lifelong Learning Strategy
The Executive provided an update on the refresh of the Lifelong Learning Strategy. There would be 5 internally led workstreams, these being:
- Engagement with employers
- Information and guidance
- Entitlement
- Journeys through learning
- Community learning development
Work is at the early, evidence-gathering stage. The next stage will be to issue a consultation paper.
Lifelong Learning - Policy Initiatives
Members welcomed the Executive's paper which highlighted a number of current strategies or initiatives being led by the Lifelong Learning group. Members requested that the lead officer's name and contact details be added to the paper for ease of reference. The Executive agreed to amend the paper as requested.
STUC was concerned that the NEET strategy was being developed without Union dialogue. The Executive indicated that the team responsible for NEET was small but reassured STUC that their views had been articulated to the team by Further and Adult Education Division. At the STUC's suggestion, it was agreed to invite a member from the NEET strategy team to the next roundtable meeting.
Action: Executive to amend the 'Summary Paper on Current Strategies and Initiatives within the Lifelong Learning Group' and re-issue to members.
Action: Executive to invite a member from the NEET strategy team to the next Roundtable meeting.
Agenda Item 5 - The SFC's Corporate Plan
The SFC was to meet with the Deputy First Minister that afternoon with a view to signing off the SFC's corporate plan. The SFC's 7 aims have remained the same as in previous drafts, as have the main objectives. The Corporate plan clearly sets out the responsibilities of the Funding Council, and of individual colleges and universities. It is anticipated that the Corporate plan will set out a strategy over three years, and will be published as soon as possible following Ministerial approval.
Agenda Item 6 - CHASTE Health and Safety: Stress
The meeting was reminded that the 'Co-ordinating Health and Safety in Tertiary Education (CHASTE) project helped raise awareness of issues such as occupational health, stress etc. Most colleges have now been visited by the project team.
ASC, STUC and US agreed to discuss issues of Scotland-wide significance relating to stress, and report back to the next meeting.
Action: ASC, STUC and US agreed to meet separately report back to the next meeting.
Agenda Item 7 - Spending Review
Members were reminded that the spending review was designed to coincide with the UK Government's 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.
The Executive indicated that the Executive's spending review was likely to be very tight. It was agreed that there was a very strong case for investment in both sectors. It was important that the Executive should ensure that current and future pressures were fully represented, including additional pressures as a result of migrant workers.
Agenda Item 8 - A.O.B
The Executive informed members that the Charities Regulator had recently announced that it will be reviewing, as a matter of priority, the charitable status of both colleges and higher education institutions. This was to be completed by 2009. The Executive will keep members informed of any progress on this issue.
Close
Aileen McKechnie brought the session to a close and thanked colleagues for their contributions.
THE ROUNDTABLE FORUM
TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2006 , VICTORIA QUAY, EDINBURGH
MINUTES OF HEI -SPECIFIC SESSION
Participants:Sir Muir Russell, US
David Caldwell, US
Martin Fairbairn, SFC
David Wann, SFC
Fiona Bates, SFC
Matthew Lancashire, NUS Scotland
Tim Goodwin, NUS Scotland
Natale Craig, NUS Scotland
David Bleiman, STUC
Mary Senior, STUC
Marian Healy, STUC
Gill Troup, Scottish Executive (in the Chair)
Hugh McAloon, Scottish Executive
Anna Kynaston, Scottish Executive
Apologies: Kath Ryall, STUC
Roger McClure, SFC
Laurence Howells, SFC
Welcome by Gill Troup, Head of Higher Education and Learner Support
Gill Troup welcomed participants to the third meeting of the HIE Roundtable.
Agenda Item 1 - Minutes of the previous meeting and action points
Minutes of the previous meeting were agreed without amendment.
Action Points:
Ø "Fixed term contracts to be on next agenda in September to assess how things have progressed since 10 July."
Ø "SFC to see if Martin Fairbairn can present the findings of the annual Contract Research Survey Report (for 2004-05) at the next meeting."
It was agreed that discussion on these action points would take place under agenda item 3.
Agenda Item 2 - SR 2007
Members asked for clarification of the Spending Review timetable. The Scottish Executive informed members that no formal timetable had been set as yet however it was now certain that the actual Spending Review would take place post 2007 Scottish Parliamentary elections. Members were further advised that the deadline for the Spending Review is September 2007 as this is when the Scottish Executive's Budget Bill must be laid before parliament.
Members were advised that the evidence gathering process would take place before the election. US asked how the HE futures work would feed into the spending review. The Executive informed them that as outcomes from the HE futures work emerged they would feed into the Spending Review. The STUC was also reassured that findings of Phase 3 of the HE review, The Competitiveness of Higher Education in Scotland, would also be used as evidence. US also acknowledged the need to document the work of HEI's in wider areas such as entrepreneurship and encouraging creativity.
Agenda Item 3 - Fixed Term Contracts
The SFC informed members that the third Contract Research Survey Report was published on the 15 September. Key messages from the report were that the absolute number of people employed on fixed term contracts was down in a context of increasing research activity. The SFC is committed to reporting again in 2008.
US commented that the statistics within the report are an objective demonstration that progress in the reduction of fixed term contracts is being made. The STUC acknowledged the progress demonstrated within the report and also the progress made since July 10 2006 where a significant movement of staff onto permanent contracts has been undertaken.
STUC did however want to note some reservations. These were that they felt that not every institution was providing timely decisions on contractual status for all members of staff and that a change in contractual status did not without further reforms improve job security. The SFC said that it was their experience that senior managers within HEI's were committed to reducing the number of employees on fixed term contracts. It was their perception that at operational level the culture towards fixed term contracts would take some time to change. US finished the discussion by communicating the sectors strong commitment to minimising redundancies and striving to seek the optimum balance of contractual arrangements.
Agenda Item 4 - Pay Framework Implementation Progress
STUC opened discussions by providing feedback from the UK steering group on Pay Framework Implementation. The UK was monitoring progress under three categories: signed off; making good progress; and no information. The STUC were pleased to inform members that no Scottish institution fell within the last category. They also wished to thank the SFC for insisting institutions work towards the 1 August 2006 deadline.
The Executive asked for further information on general Scottish progress. The STUC noted that the pre-92 institutions were progressing well albeit with work still to do and that all the post-92 institutions had agreed to a retrospective settlement which although not ideal was better than nothing. US acknowledged that there was still a considerable amount of work to be done on the support staff side but were hopeful that by the end of the calendar year all institutions would have completed their negotiations.
Agenda Item 5 - Future of Research Assessment Exercise
US feel that in Scotland they are more supportive of current Research Assessment Exercise than rest of the UK. There was also agreement that research quality must be UK wide and that therefore the measurement of research quality is very important. US also stated that the metrics contained within the most recent re-draft look sensible especially in terms of quality. US were however keen that the new model had sustainability as this was important in order to track both quality and value of research both nationally and internationally.
The SFC confirmed that the Research Assessment Exercise for 2008 was to go ahead under existing model as planned. They also reassured members that they too were keen any model that follows the current would be used for several years. The SFC also noted the importance of the international value of research and offered reassurance that no-one involved in the process of redeveloping the model wanted to see a devaluation.
The SFC encouraged the STUC to respond to the joint consultation on RAE metrics as this had an indirect implication for staff through its focus on the amount of research undertaken.
Agenda Item 6 - Any Other Business
None.
Close
Gill thanked members for attending and notified the group that the date of the next meeting would be issued with the meeting note.
Summary of Action Points
FE Specific Session:
Item 2
Action: Executive to ensure the issue of Governance Standards is raised within the remit of the SLALE Working Group.
Joint Session:
Item 2
Action: Executive to discuss with the Home Office the issue of delays with visas under the Fresh Talent initiative.
Action: The SFC agreed to send the Executive evidence of demand for courses by migrant workers outweighing supply.
Item 3
Action: Executive to set up a meeting with NUS Scotland to discuss Strategic Futures.
Item 4
Action: Executive to amend the 'Summary Paper on Current Strategies and Initiatives within the Lifelong Learning Group' and re-issue to members.
Action: Executive to invite a member from the NEET strategy team to the next Roundtable meeting.
Item 6
Action: ASC, STUC and US agreed to discuss national measures of stress and report back at the next meeting.