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Publication - Correspondence

Community Learning and Development: joint letter to independent reviewer

Published
20 December 2024
From
Minister for Higher and Further Education
Directorate
Lifelong Learning and Skills Directorate

A joint letter from the Minister for Higher and Further Education; Minister for Veterans and COSLA welcoming the report of the independent review of Community Learning and Development.

To:  Kate Still, Independent Reviewer of Community Learning & Development

From:  Minister for Higher and Further Education; and Minister for Veterans, COSLA Community Wellbeing Spokesperson, COSLA Children and Young People Spokesperson

Independent review of Community Learning and Development (CLD)

We are writing to you to set out the first step in responding to your CLD review report: Learning: For All. For Life.

The first recommendation of your report was that the Scottish Government and COSLA should establish a joint CLD Strategic Leadership Group (SLG).  We have discussed this recommendation and agreed that we should seek to establish an SLG with an initial meeting early in the New Year.

COSLA and Scottish Government officials are working closely to agree the membership and terms of reference for the SLG and to confirm the date of the first meeting.  As we finalise the approach to the establishment and operation of the SLG, we are planning to invite you to address the group in due course.

Both the Scottish Government and COSLA broadly welcome the report with its recognition of good practice that already exists across Scotland.  Your report makes 20 recommendations which vary in terms of complexity and scope, and there are some which will be challenging to deliver.  The SLG will play a central role in developing our detailed responses to the other 19 recommendations, working together with sector leaders.

We are confident the SLG will help us to make progress in considering and responding to your recommendations in 2025, in collaboration with the sector.  We look forward to working together, and with sector leaders, to further strengthen CLD provision and support the best possible outcomes for communities across Scotland.

We are copying this letter to CLD stakeholders and publishing it on the Scottish Government website.

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Dey
Minister for Higher and Further Education; and Veterans

Cllr Maureen Chalmers
COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing

Cllr Tony Buchanan
COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People

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