Accountability of Qualifications Scotland
Section 16 – Corporate plan of Qualifications Scotland
35.Section 16 makes provision about Qualifications Scotland’s corporate plan. This must be prepared by Qualifications Scotland as soon as reasonably practicable after this section comes into force.
36.The corporate plan must set out the main objectives of Qualifications Scotland, the outcomes which will be used to assess whether those objectives have been achieved, a general description of its planned activities, and what it intends to do to meet the requirements set out in section 7 and the expectations set out in its charters. The charters which must be covered for this purpose will include the learner charter under section 11 and the teacher and practitioner charter under section 12, as well as any other charters produced (e.g. under section 14). The corporate plan may also include such other material as Qualifications Scotland considers appropriate. However, the corporate plan need not include details of objectives and activities which relate to the activities of the Accreditation Committee, because it is required to prepare its own corporate plan under section 24.
37.Before preparing a corporate plan, Qualifications Scotland is required to consult with a variety of persons on how Qualifications Scotland can, in the exercise of its functions, align with the economic, social and environmental priorities of the Scottish Ministers. The groups from which consultees must be sought are persons who are undertaking (or have recent experience of undertaking) a Qualifications Scotland qualification, persons who are providing teaching or training in respect of a Qualifications Scotland qualification, employers, and such other persons as Qualifications Scotland considers appropriate. When consulting, Qualifications Scotland is only required to consult with such persons in these groups as it considers appropriate.
38.Once a plan has been prepared, it must be put to a vote of the members of Qualifications Scotland. In order to be approved, a majority of those voting must cast their vote in favour of the plan. The plan must then be submitted to the Scottish Ministers. Ministers can approve the plan without any modifications, approve it with modifications (following consultation with Qualifications Scotland), or reject it. If it is rejected, the Scottish Ministers must publish their reasons for rejecting the plan, and Qualifications Scotland must submit a modified plan as soon as reasonably practicable. Any modified plan will be subject to the same approval requirements as the plan that was initially submitted. Furthermore, the same options for responding are available to the Scottish Ministers in respect of a modified plan.
39.As soon as reasonably practicable following approval of the corporate plan, Qualifications Scotland must publish it and the Scottish Ministers must lay a copy of it before the Scottish Parliament.
40.Once a corporate plan is approved, it remains in force until such time it is superseded by a new corporate plan. Qualifications Scotland can opt to prepare a new corporate plan at any time, or it can be compelled to do so by the Scottish Ministers. In each case, because a new corporate plan is still a corporate plan, its content must satisfy the requirements of subsection (3) and it must be published and laid before the Scottish Parliament under subsection (9). Further, by virtue of subsection (11), the same rules about approval apply as applied to the first corporate plan.
Section 17 – Annual report of Qualifications Scotland
41.This section places an obligation on Qualifications Scotland to report after each financial year on its activities during that year. The phrase “financial year” is defined in schedule 1 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 as a year ending with 31 March. Qualifications Scotland must publish this report and share a copy with the Scottish Ministers as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of each financial year. Following receipt of this, the Scottish Ministers must lay a copy of the report before the Scottish Parliament.
42.The report must include a statement of what Qualifications Scotland has done during that year to meet the requirements set out in section 7 and the expectations set out in its charters. In the event that Qualifications Scotland has failed to satisfy any expectation set out in its charters during that year, the report must set out these failures, the reasons for such failures, and the steps that Qualifications Scotland has taken, or intends to take, to remedy those failures. The charters which must be covered for this purpose will include the learner charter under section 11 and the teacher and practitioner charter under section 12, as well as any other charters produced (e.g. under section 14). The report need not include details of activities carried out by the Accreditation Committee, because it is required to report separately under section 25. Otherwise, the content and form of the report is a matter for Qualifications Scotland.
Section 18 – Annual quality assurance compliance report of Qualifications Scotland
43.This section requires Qualifications Scotland to prepare and publish a report after each financial year (see paragraph 41 of these Notes for a definition of financial year) on the arrangements it has made in accordance with the requirements of section 3(a) (see paragraph 11 of these Notes), being those necessary to satisfy itself as to the quality of the qualifications it devises under the function conferred by section 2(1)(a). In particular, this report must set out the arrangements that were in place during the relevant financial year, and detail how Qualifications Scotland complied with those arrangements during that year. Otherwise, the content and form of the report is a matter for Qualifications Scotland. In particular, the report can be combined with another report (such as the annual report under section 17).
44.When preparing the report, Qualifications Scotland must consult the Learner Interest Committee and the Teacher and Practitioner Interest Committee. Qualifications Scotland must send a copy of the published report to the Scottish Ministers, and in turn the Scottish Ministers must lay a copy of the report before the Scottish Parliament.
Section 19 – Reports of advice to Qualifications Scotland from certain committees
45.Section 19 places an obligation on Qualifications Scotland to prepare and publish reports setting out a summary of any advice provided to it by its mandatory committees (i.e. the Learner Interest Committee, the Teacher and Practitioner Interest Committee and the Accreditation Committee). These reports must also set out a summary of Qualifications Scotland’s response to such advice. Qualifications Scotland is required to publish the first of these reports within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which this section comes into force. Subsequent reports must be published within 12 months of the day on which the last report was published.
Section 20 – Accounts and audit of Qualifications Scotland
46.This section requires Qualifications Scotland to keep accounts, and to prepare a statement of accounts for each financial year and send a copy to the Scottish Ministers. The Scottish Ministers must then submit the statement to the Auditor General for Scotland for audit.
47.As Qualifications Scotland’s accounts are required, by statute, to be sent to the Auditor General for Scotland for auditing, sections 21 and 22 of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 then apply. Amongst other things, those sections provide for the accounts, and the auditor’s report on them, to be laid before the Scottish Parliament and published (see section 22(5) of that Act). In addition, the principal accountable officer for the Scottish Administration can designate someone to be the body’s accountable officer (see section 15(3) of that Act), and the Auditor General for Scotland can look into whether the body has been using its resources appropriately (see section 23 of that Act).
Section 21 – Scottish Ministers’ power to direct Qualifications Scotland
>48.This section requires Qualifications Scotland to comply with any direction issued to it by the Scottish Ministers. This could, for example, relate to the exercising of Qualifications Scotland’s core functions or it could relate to a more administrative matter such as how the body is to keep its accounting records.
49.Directions given by the Scottish Ministers to Qualifications Scotland must be in writing and published as soon as reasonably practicable after being given. A direction may be varied or revoked by a subsequent direction. There is, however, an obligation on the Scottish Ministers to consult Qualifications Scotland before issuing a direction, unless that direction is merely revoking an earlier direction.
50.In general, Qualifications Scotland will be able to respond to a direction issued by the Scottish Ministers by, where appropriate, passing on a corresponding direction to its committees and the committee must then comply with it under paragraph 10(4) of schedule 1. However, under paragraph 13(3)(a) of schedule 1, this does not include its Accreditation Committee. There is therefore a separate power for the Scottish Ministers to direct the Accreditation Committee (see section 26).
Section 22 – Guidance by the Scottish Ministers to Qualifications Scotland
51.This section requires Qualifications Scotland to have regard to any guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers in respect of the exercise of Qualifications Scotland’s functions. This obligation is in addition to Qualifications Scotland having regard to any guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers to it under section 8(2) (see paragraph 18 of these Notes) and to its Strategic Advisory Council under section 9(3)(f)(ii) (see paragraph 21 of these Notes). Where any guidance as mentioned in this section is issued, the Scottish Ministers must publish it. There are equivalent publication requirements for the additional guidance mentioned in section 8 (see section 8(3)) and section 9 (see section 9(5)).
Section 23 – Provision of information by Qualifications Scotland
52.This section requires Qualifications Scotland to provide the Scottish Ministers with such information as they reasonably request relating to the exercise of Qualifications Scotland’s functions. This allows Ministers to be provided with information they require without needing to issue a direction in order to obtain it.
