Another week, another report on further education (FE) and another opportunity missed.
The Public Audit Committee has published a report a report that is notable only for the unanswered questions contained within it ("Audit body hits out at claims of savings from college mergers", September 28).
It highlights what we have known for some time: that FE is expected to continue to suffer huge cuts in funding that will impact greatly on many of the most vulnerable in our society.
However, the unanswered questions presented in the report are highly significant and worth asking again. Almost £100 million was transferred by FE colleges into arms-length foundations (Alfs).
The committee asked colleges for assurances on transparency and accountability in relation to these public funds. The simple answer outlined in the report is that neither the Scottish Funding Council nor the Scottish Government have thought about whether or not these Alfs should be covered by Freedom of Information legislation. Not only have they not thought about this but they also have no plans to ensure that this legislation should apply if required. It would appear that almost £100 million of public money has been put beyond the reach of public accountability. This is a scandal.
Further education has never been more desperate for funds, some colleges have claimed that the Alfs funds have been set aside for a rainy day. Our FE service is drowning under a deluge of cuts, these funds should be spent on FE.
The audit committee seems to accept that yet again a public scandal has been exposed but there is little that can be done about it. How long must we wait for accountability in the FE sector?
John Kelly,
EIS/FELA President,
FE lecturers section,
131 Corsebar Road,
Paisley.
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