AN investigation by funding chiefs into a Scottish college which suspended its principal was "unlawful", it has been claimed.
Lawyers believe the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) did not have the powers to launch a review of Glasgow Clyde College earlier this year.
The SFC acted because officials were concerned about the process the college board had followed in suspending principal Susan Walsh in February.
However, legal advice secured by the board from law firm Brodies has thrown doubt over the legitimacy of the SFC-commissioned report.
A college board spokesman said: "From the outset, the board and college’s solicitors advised the SFC that the review was unlawful as the SFC were intervening in a current employment matter which is the locus of the college.
"All these enquiries..... have been costly, time consuming and stressful for the voluntary board."
The DLA Piper review was initiated under the 2005 Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act, which allows for the SFC to review the governance of colleges to assess whether they should continue to be funded.
The college board argues the legislation was not intended to be used by the SFC for blanket reviews of operational matters like employment or grievance procedures.
Brodies state: “The board of management remain concerned about the scope of the SFC review. Whilst it is hopeful no challenge will be necessary the board does reserve its right to challenge the SFC review.
“In particular, the board still has concerns, with which we agree, that the 2005 Act does not give the SFC the power to review live operational decisions taken by an institution when proceedings flowing from those decisions are yet to be determined.”
The Brodies report said the disciplinary proceedings should have been concluded before the SFC conducted any review.
The report goes on to question some of the findings of the DLA Piper review and notes a “general concern” about “a lack of balance”.
Laurence Howells, chief executive of the SFC, said: “We have provided advice in confidence to Scottish ministers in relation to Clyde College.
"Our concern in this matter, as for any college in Scotland, is for the quality of students’ learning and for services to employers and the wider community.”
The intervention comes seven months after Mrs Walsh was suspended after concerns over her style of management and allegations of bullying.
Angela Constance, the Education Secretary, has written to the board threatening them with “removal” over governance issues, including the way board meetings were held and the fact the college has been without a principal.
The board have now responded to the minister and said they believed there was "no case to dismiss the chair or the board".
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