Meeting of the Parliament 08 March 2016
I am afraid that I cannot help Annabel Goldie, because we have not had an answer to that question. It remains in the mists of time. I really do not understand where the Government is getting the information from. It is very disturbing. The other stakeholders do not seem to have a problem with governance, and I question again why the bill was considered necessary.
Let us be generous. If we are to accept that some changes were required, we would hope that they could be made with clarity and rational thinking. However, that is far from the case. Indeed, I feel very sorry for our universities, which will undoubtedly be faced with additional constitutional and administrative burdens, all because of the Scottish Government’s meddling. In some cases, the bill will diminish rather than enhance universities’ democratic accountability. That is very sad, not least because those universities are some of our finest institutions in Scotland. The last thing they want to be bothered about just now is having to worry about an unnecessary bill, when there are many other things that they want to get on with—leading the field on an international basis, in knowledge exchange and in research and development. I think we can all feel pretty sorry for them.
Overall, the approach that has been taken has displayed a degree of ignorance about what makes a university good. It has undermined the crucial trust that exists between a chair and the board and how that underpins policy making. I accept entirely what Annabel Goldie has been saying about that throughout the afternoon. The bill dilutes that trust, not least because there remains an overlapping electorate for chairs and rectors, with the result that it is hard to see where the responsibility really lies. That is never a good thing in any institution.
I am disappointed and, in some ways, very saddened by the approach that the Scottish Government has taken. I think that I can echo the feelings of every institution across the land when it comes to what has happened with regard to the bill. They have lobbied very reasonably and very often. It has all fallen on deaf ears. That is deeply regrettable, and I hope that the Scottish Government will consider the matter again and bring the legislation back to the Parliament in the next session.
18:41