Post-school funding body landscape simplification: outline business aase

Footnotes

1 Fit for the Future: developing a post-school learning system to fuel economic transformation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

2 Supporting documents - Post-school education, research and skills - purpose and principles - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

3 Diversity of Provision (www.gov.scot)

4 Post-school education, research and skills - initial priorities (www.gov.scot)

5 Guide to developing the Programme Business Case (publishing.service.gov.uk)

6 Fit for the Future: developing a post-school learning system to fuel economic transformation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

7 Supporting documents - Post-school education, research and skills - purpose and principles - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

8 National Performance Framework | National Performance Framework

9 National Outcomes | National Performance Framework

10 Programme for Government 2024-25: Serving Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

11 Equality, opportunity, community: New leadership - A fresh start - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

12 The Scottish Government's Medium-Term Financial Strategy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

13 Resource Spending Review 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

14 Scottish Government Literature Review on Economic, social and wellbeing benefits of participation in lifetime learning and skills.

15 Delivering Economic Prosperity (www.gov.scot)

16 Review of Coherent Provision and Sustainability (sfc.ac.uk)

17 The Cumberford-Little Report

18 A New Social Contract for Students: Fairness, Parity, Clarity (2017)

19 SFC National Review - Scottish Funding Council

20 Official Record of the Scottish Parliament, 5 December 2023

21 For the purposes of this business case National Training Programmes (NTPs) are defined as including any national training offers which are contracted to approved training providers. This currently includes delivery of modern, graduate and foundation apprenticeship programmes as well as historically programmes such as Individual Training Accounts, Employability Fund and Adopt an Apprentice. The majority of NTPs are currently delivered via SDS with some provision delivered by SFC, including FAs and GAs.

22 Scottish Government Budget

23 Coherence and Sustainability: A Review of Tertiary Education and Research

24 Planning for skills (audit-scotland.gov.uk)

25 Shared Outcomes Framework

26 Shared Outcomes Assurance Group

27 Planning for skills - Audit Scotland - January 2022

28 Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board

29 Education and Skills Impact Framework - Summary Report

30 Education and Skills Impact Framework (ESIF) - modern apprenticeships provision: contextual summary report

31 Education and Skills Impact Framework (ESIF) - college provision: contextual summary report

32 Education and Skills Impact Framework: Universities Summary

33 Post school education, research and skills outcomes for the purpose and principles (www.gov.scot)

34 Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act | GOV.WALES

35 Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Bill - Explanatory Memorandum

36 The reasons given for options being deemed inadvisable were where the option required repealing and transferring responsibility of functions already conferred on one body in statute to another body with no statutory underpinning or existing experience of exercising those functions. Such options, while possible, were deemed higher risk as they reduce certainty of rights and obligations in law and increase lack of transparency and accountability, the legal mechanisms would become more complex and less accessible and therefore inadvisable.

37 Options 2 and 3 are likely to require amendments to be made to the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005. The 2005 Act resulted in the establishment of the Scottish Funding Council, merging the previously separate Further Education Funding Council and Higher Education Funding Council. The Act places a duty on the Scottish Funding Council to secure the coherent provision of high quality fundable further and higher education in carrying out their functions. An expansion of these functions to include other post-school learning and skills was considered preferable and more straightforward than other longlisted options for change which would have necessitated more substantial legislative change to enable the transfer of functions to a public body not currently underpinned by statute.

38 There was a total of 19 participants: 4 from Scottish Government, 3 from each of the three public bodies, 3 from Colleges Scotland, 2 from Universities Scotland and 1 Independent Training Provider.

39 The loan book is the outstanding carrying value of maintenance and tuition fee loans issued by SAAS and managed by SLC.

40 Based on the HMT Green Book guidance, costs and benefits should be calculated over the lifetime of the intervention or asset and that, for many interventions, a time horizon of 10 years is suitable. SAAS, SFC and SDS provided costs for a 10-year period from 2024-25. Given that the first year of the intervention is 2025-26, a 9-year appraisal period is used instead.

41 The Scottish Government Procurement Strategy April 2024 – March 2028 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

42 In all scenarios, there is a line of capital expenditure that represents a digital transformation programme that is currently being implemented. In FY27/28, there is a significant drop in the total costs across the three options presented in this financial case. This is because the digital transformation programme should be completed in that year.

43 See, for example, the complexity in calculating transfer values for the LGPS: LGPS_Scotland_Transfer_Guidance_Note_29_February_2024_.pdf (pensions.gov.scot)

44 It became apparent during the OBC development that it may not be possible to transfer the total value of the student loan book or related governance functions to a NDPB. For the purposes of this OBC it has been assumed that a small team of civil servants would have to be retained within the Scottish Government to deliver these functions if Option 3 were to be progressed further. The cost of these civil servants is estimated to be between £204k and £208k. Significant further work would be required to further consider this issue and the potential solutions.

45 Option 1 remains unchanged

46 The reasons given for options being deemed inadvisable were where the option required repealing and transferring responsibility of functions already conferred on one body in statute to another body with no statutory underpinning or existing experience of exercising those functions. Such options, while possible, were deemed higher risk as they reduce certainty of rights and obligations in law and increase lack of transparency and accountability, the legal mechanisms would become more complex and less accessible and therefore inadvisable.