Committee Questions College Merger Savings Claims
A Holyrood spending watchdog has questioned claims about savings associated with controversial college mergers designed to cut costs.
The Public Audit Committee said the Scottish Government and its paymaster have not provided detailed figures to demonstrate the merger process, which has been plagued by official accusations of improper payments, has generated the promised efficiency savings.
Audit Scotland has identified six colleges where the way severance arrangements for senior staff were handled fell short of good practice.
North Glasgow College and Coatbridge College demonstrated significant shortcomings'' in reporting and governance and there were shortcomings at four other colleges, auditors said.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon recently entered the row over Coatbridge College, insisting she was appalled'' by the revelation that principal John Doyle and senior managers received an £850,000 pay off against the advice of the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
The Public Audit Committee heard how the staff colluded to feather their own nests'' anddeliberately withheld'' SFC advice which called the payments into question.
The committee has now raised concerns about the validity of efficiency claims regarding the entire college merger programme.
It has also raised concerns about the impact on staff and students, the accountability of Arm's-Length Foundations (ALFs) and the handling of severance payments in the sector.
Committee convener Paul Martin MSP said: We know that assessing costs and expected efficiency savings is a major challenge for mergers.
The committee was assured by the Scottish Government that the lessons identified by the Auditor General from previous public body mergers had been learned.
So it is disappointing that the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council (SFC) have not yet been able to provide detailed figures to demonstrate efficiencies.
The £50 million figure for savings has frequently been referred to but we have yet to be convinced and we have sought clarity on the timescale for achieving this saving.
Given the cost of the mergers and particular concerns around some severance payments made, we have asked the Scottish Government to provide greater detail on the merger costs and the achieved savings.
Further, the committee understands why Arm's-Length Foundations (ALFs) are being used by colleges, but calls for greater transparency in how they are being used by extending FOI (freedom of information) legislation to cover them.
We acknowledge the Auditor General's finding that the merger planning process was generally good but we require more evidence of the benefits claimed.''
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: We will consider carefully the Public Audit Committee's conclusions and recommendations. We particularly welcome that the report recognises that planning for mergers was good and the sector has responded well to a period of significant change.
With the latest figures showing that colleges delivered record levels of student retention, successful completion and a 34% increase in students progressing from college to university with advanced standing, they are continuing to meet learning targets and offer positive experiences.
As with any reform programme of this scale, there remains work to be done to realise the full benefits. This report and the one published recently by Audit Scotland (Scotland's colleges 2015) are helpful in highlighting where improvements can be made. We will work closely with the SFC and colleges to ensure we build on this substantial early success.''