NEW laws which change the way Scottish universities are run will not hand more powers to ministers, officials have pledged.
Scottish Government civil servants dismissed concerns the legislation would pave the way for greater interference in higher education at a meeting of Holyrood’s finance committee.
They also disagreed with claims Scottish universities would be at a greater risk of losing the power to hold cash reserves or their charitable status.
Stephen White, strategic policy lead at the Scottish Government, told MSPs from Holyrood’s finance committee there had been a “thorough consideration of the risk”.
He added: “Nothing in this Bill requires higher education institutions to ask ministers for permission for anything. It’s not about ministerial control.”
The development comes after a wave of opposition to the Higher Education Governance Bill, which is currently going through Holyrood.
It includes proposals to appoint trade union members to universities’ ruling Courts for the first time and make the powerful post of Court chair elected - potentially ending the historic role of rector.
Because the mechanisms for the appointment and election of governing body chairs will be made through ministerial regulations universities believe that will threaten their autonomy.
They also fear it will lead universities to be reclassified as public bodies by the UK-wide Office of National Statistics (ONS) - which would prevent them from holding reserves and damage their ability to raise money - with an estimated £450 million shortfall.
However, Kerry Twyman, a Scottish Government finance expert, told the committee: “If there was to be a reclassification decision triggered by an ONS review..... we would then ask for a period to view the entire structure around universities to potentially make changes that would keep them outwith that boundary.”
A letter to the committee from the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator suggested there would be no threat to charitable status.
The letter states: “Our view is that the provisions do not form part of the constitutions of the chartered universities or designated institutions, and that ministerial control therefore does not fall to be considered in respect of these charities.
“In terms of the older universities.... our view is that when taken together these provisions in the Bill do not amount to the existence of ministerial
control in a way that would cause the older universities to breach... the Act.”
Earlier, university leaders denied suggestions by MSPs that the estimated financial implications of the governance shake-up was a “smokescreen” to avoid more transparency.
Alastair Sim, executive director of Universities Scotland, which represents university principals, questioned the “quality of thinking” that had gone into the Bill and said universities could be “severely hampered” by what he described as the “unintended impacts” of its provisions.
Professor Anton Muscatelli, principal of Glasgow University, added: “I can assure you personally I have financial concerns."
Garry Coutts, chair of court at the University of the Highlands and Islands, told the committee he believed the legislation was a response to pressure from staff and students for better representation on the powerful Courts which rule universities.
He said: “I believe we can achieve the intentions of government around the representation on Courts without the need for legislation which carries a huge amount of risk which could be very detrimental to the sector.”
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