A disagreement between Scottish local authorities and the country’s Qualifications Authority has become public with the councils announcing that they will seek another organisation to provide the service, even if that means going south of the border to find one. It follows the decision of the SQA to increase the examination entry fees they charge education authorities by a 35 per cent over the next two years. The local authorities are also concerned that there is no indication that this is the end of the rises.The SQA says the rises are necessary as it moves towards its goal of becoming self-financing, although even with the increases it will require some grant support from the Scottish Executive. Councillor Ewan Aitken, the education spokesman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities responded to news of the increases by stating that councils would not be held to ransom or used as a tool to bale out a quango.
The public service union, UNISON, has welcomed the news that the government is to look at the effect of University top-up fees on entry to public service professions. A recent survey conducted by the union showed that more than two-thirds of current students would consider working in the public sector for a fixed period if their debts were paid off.The union has succeeded in persuading the Government to stop universities charging top-up tuition fees to nursing and other medical students. It is continuing to argue for the concession to be extended to social work students.
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The Guide, which is produced by the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, explains what strategy is, how it works and how it differs in the public compared to the private sector. It was produced to help organisations think through what they want to achieve and how they will achieve it. Putting strategies into practice and acting strategically ensures that they are focused on the things that really matter – not buffeted by events or short-term distractions – and are able to allocate their resources accordingly.It explains that strategy is best conceived as an end to end process from the definition of goals to implementation. In a democracy, the end purpose will be to create public value – services and outcomes that are valued by the public. Policies need to be developed within the framework of a longer-term strategy, taking into account the practicalities of implementation. All strategies need to be adaptable, with quick feedback and effective information flows to take account of changing circumstances or unexpected events.