§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what conclusions he has reached with regard to the future arrangements for reorganising educational endowments in Scotland.
§ Mr. YoungerHaving carefully considered the responses to the consultative paper "The Future of Educational and Other Endowments in Scotland", which my Department issued in March this year, I have decided that all my existing functions in relation to endowments, except 229W the keeping of a register and amendment of the governing instruments of central institutions, should be discontinued. I propose that education authorities should, subject to certain safeguards, be given powers to reorganise educational endowments in their areas, other than those governing independent schools and other establishments which are not under education authority management. If the governing bodies of these schools and establishments wish to have their endowments reorganised, they will in future require to petition the Court of Session; and it is my intention that the court's powers in this respect should be at least as wide as those currently exercised by myself and by the Scottish Universities Committee of the Privy Council. The functions of this committee in relation to university endowments would be discontinued, but universities in Scotland would be able to petition the Court of Session for any reorganisation of their endowments which they may consider necessary.
I intend to introduce legislation to effect these changes at the first opportunity.