SNP minister 'does not know' where he will find £4.5m used to end bitter Scotland colleges dispute

The Scottish Government does not yet know where it will find the £4.5 million it has pledged to finally end a long-running industrial dispute in the college sector, MSPs have been told.

Further Education Minister Graeme Dey said the Government was still “looking actively at where we will fund that one”. A two-year dispute between college lecturers and management finally reached is on the brink of a resolution following a breakthrough in talks last month.

Andrea Bradley, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland union, said the Scottish Government’s intervention with an extra £4.5m had been “key”. The turn-around came just days after Mr Dey had reiterated the Government would not intervene, warning the two sides were “nowhere near” a resolution.

Further and higher education minister Graeme Dey

Giving evidence before Holyrood’s education committee on Wednesday, Mr Dey was asked about the U-turn.

“What changed was that the impasse, a very significant impasse that existed between the two sides, was broken,” he said. “We did not intervene, let’s be absolutely clear. What happened was that the two sides found a way forward. They were able to reach an agreement.

“The stumbling block at that point was that the difference between what the colleges could afford in year four, next year, and what the union would settle for, was 1 per cent, roughly £4m to £4.5m.

“On that basis we took the view, for all the reasons that we would all highlight about the impact of the dispute etc, that the Government would undertake to provide that level of support in the next financial year, in order for them to secure that agreement.”

Mr Dey added: “Had the sides been able to come to such an agreement much earlier on, the Government would have looked to have assisted, but they were poles apart, and they remained poles apart until about a week before that.”

However, when Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy asked where the money would be coming from, Mr Dey could not provide any details.

“Ms Duncan-Glancy will recognise that we are working our way through this year’s budget still, and the interest of the committee is in next year,” the minister said. “We are looking actively at where we will fund that one.

“What I can assure the committee is that we have given a clear assurance to both parties that the £4.5m will be additional to the settlement, and clearly additional, to the settlement for colleges.”

Liberal Democrat committee member Willie Rennie said: “You don’t know where the money is coming from? You criticise this committee and opposition members all the time for offering up extra expenditure without knowing where the money is coming from, and you’ve done exactly the same.

“How can you come before the committee and tell us you don’t know where the money is coming from?”

Mr Dey responded: “What I said to you, Mr Rennie, was that we are currently working on that. We don’t know what our budget will be for that year.”

The admission comes just a day after Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced £500m of cuts to ease pressures in this year’s budget. Ms Duncan-Glancy told Mr Dey: “Part of the reason we’re in the position of having in-year budget moves is because of this kind of decision.”