Representatives from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) have given evidence to the Scottish Parliament Education, Children and Young People Committee in relation to the Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) Bill.
The Bill will see funding for National Training Programmes and Apprenticeships transfer from SDS to SFC. It will also make reforms to the governance arrangements of SFC with a focus on the appointment of members to the SFC Board and the establishment of a new apprenticeship committee.
Damien Yeates, Chief Executive, SDS and Martin Boyle, Chief Operating Officer, SFC, gave evidence at the committee meeting held on 7 May 2025.
Mr Yeates stated that the SDS Board questioned whether it makes sense to spend potentially £30 million on transition costs to move the £100 million apprenticeship fund from SDS to SFC.
Mr Boyle said the Bill will seek to simplify the current complex funding environment for post-school education by removing artificial barriers between vocational training and academic training. He said ‘Bringing the funding into one place will allow us to have a more holistic view of the learner and employer demand and respond to learner and employer needs more efficiently and effectively’
In response, Mr Yeates said: ‘Some £2.2 billion already sits with SFC and we are saying that moving 3 per cent of the funding will achieve a miraculous reduction in the complexity of the system. It just does not seem to add up.’
Mr Boyle was asked to respond to concerns that SFC would not focus on apprenticeships once the transfer of funding was completed. He said ‘We are bringing two organisations together to create a new organisation that will deliver the full range of university, college and apprenticeship provision, and our focus will be on all three.’
Mr Yeates was asked about criticisms made about SDS in the Withers report. He said ‘The SDS Board had a number of engagements with James Withers who told the board that his report was opinion-led. He did not take any evidence. He said he would not take account of performance or finances. His report is an opinion, but it does not bear scrutiny against the evidence.’
Mr Boyle was asked if he agreed with the SDS view that the cost of transition would be £30 million. He said he was unable to provide a figure at this stage as it was unclear what was – and wasn’t – in scope.
More information about the evidence session is available via the links below.
Official Report – SPECYP Committee – 7 May 2025 (PDF)
Tertiary Education and Training Bill – Home Page
