Community learning and development: guidance for 2024 to 2027

The Requirements for Community Learning and Development (Scotland) Regulations (2013) (the 2013 Regulations)

The 2013 Regulations place requirements on education authorities that they are to meet in discharging their duties, under section 1 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, to secure adequate and efficient provision of further education. The key requirements are set out below:

Regulation 2 requires an education authority to facilitate and maintain a process where CLD is secured in a way that:

(a) identifies target individuals and groups;

(b) has regard to the needs of those target individuals and groups for that CLD;

(c) assesses the degree to which those needs are already being met; and

(d) identifies barriers to the adequate and efficient provision of that CLD.

Regulation 3 requires the education authority to take such action as is appropriate, to ensure that the following persons are involved in and consulted on the process:

(a) persons appearing to the education authority to be representative of the target individuals and groups; and

(b) persons appearing to the education authority to be representative of persons providing CLD within the area of the education authority.

Regulation 4 requires an education authority to publish a 3 year plan no later than 3 years after the date of publication of their last plan. In practice, this has the effect that the next plans are expected in September 2024.

The plan must specify:

(a) how the education authority will co-ordinate its provision of CLD with other persons that provide CLD within their area;

(b) what action the education authority will take to provide CLD over the period of the plan;

(c) what action other persons intend to take to provide CLD within the area of the education authority over the period of the plan; and

(d) any needs for CLD that will not be met within the period of the plan.

Before publishing a plan, the education authority must consult:

(a) persons appearing to them to be representative of the target individuals and groups CLD;

(b) persons appearing to the education authority to be representative of persons providing CLD within the area of the education authority; and

(c) such other persons as the education authority thinks fit.