Meeting of the Parliament 08 March 2016
I thank Mr Brodie for his explanation of amendments 27 and 31. As he set out, amendment 27 would remove the requirement for the universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St Andrews to include the position of senior lay member in their governing bodies, and amendment 31 would amend section A2(2) to give the rector all the functions of the senior lay member that are set out in that section.
Section A2(2) says that certain provisions that relate to the senior lay member have no effect in relation to institutions that have a rector with the functions that are set out in section A2(1)—namely, the universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St Andrews. Those provisions are, first, the provisions that relate to the duty of the senior lay member to preside at meetings of the governing body and to have a deliberative and a casting vote at such meetings and, secondly, the provision that allows another member of the governing body of a higher education institution to be selected in the absence of the senior lay member or while the position is vacant. In those institutions, those duties are always exercised by the rector, and the purpose of section A2(2) is to preserve the current statutory functions of the rector in those ancient institutions.
Amendment 31 seeks to give additional functions to rectors in the ancient universities. If the amendment were agreed to, the rector would continue to have the functions of presiding at meetings of the governing body and having a deliberative and a casting vote at meetings. However, crucially, the functions that the bill as amended reserves for the senior lay member—the responsibility for the leadership and effectiveness of the governing body and for ensuring that there is an appropriate balance of authority between the governing body and the principal of the institution—would be given to rectors in the ancient universities, which would be a substantial change in the rector’s role.
That is what amendments 27 and 31 would do in isolation. As we progress to consider the amendments in group 2, it will become clear that amendments 27 and 31 are also part of a wider group of amendments that provide for a new position—that of the elected co-chair—in all 18 higher education institutions. The elected co-chair would share certain responsibilities with rectors in the ancient institutions and with senior lay members in the other 14 HEIs. I do not consider that, either in isolation or combined with Mr Brodie’s amendments in group 2, amendments 27 and 31 would benefit the bill or the institutions.