Statutory Instruments
1998 No. 2208 (S.112)

EDUCATION, SCOTLAND
The Scottish College of Textiles (Closure) (Scotland) Order 1998

Made
3rd September 1998

Laid before Parliament
8th September 1998

Coming into force
1st October 1998

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 47(1), (2), (4) and (6) and 60 of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992(1), and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, and after consulting the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and the governing body of the institution to be closed in accordance with section 47(5) of that Act, hereby makes the following Order:

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Scottish College of Textiles (Closure) (Scotland) Order 1998 and shall come into force on 1st October 1998.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order the following expressions shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them:–

“the Act” means the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992;

“the College” means Scottish College of Textiles, being an institution designated under section 44 of the Act;

“the College company” means Scottish College of Textiles, a company incorporated under the Companies Acts(2);

“the Order of Council” means the Scottish College of Textiles (Scotland) Order of Council 1993(3);

“the University” means Heriot-Watt University(4).

Closure of the College and winding-up of the College company

3.  The College shall be closed and the College company wound up on 1st October 1998.

Transfer of property, rights, liabilities and obligations

4.—(1) On 1st October 1998 there shall be transferred to and vest in the University all property, rights, liabilities and obligations to which immediately before 1st October 1998 the College company was entitled or subject.

(2) The vesting of property, rights, liabilities and obligations under this Article shall have effect, notwithstanding–

(a)anything to the contrary in, or

(b)any condition relating to the transfer of such property, rights, liabilities or obligations contained in,

any enactment, rule of law or obligation.

(3) References to the College or the College company or the governors of the College company–

(a)in any agreement, deed, bond, instrument or notice;

(b)in any action or proceeding pending or existing at 1st October 1998 by or against the College company or the governors of the College company before any court or other tribunal; and

(c)in any other document whatsoever relating to or affecting any property, right, liability or obligation of the College company or the governors of the College company which vests by virtue of this Article in the University,

shall be taken on or after 1st October 1998 as referring to the University.

Supplementary provision: property provided with grant aid

5.  Where the College company has received non-recurrent grant under the Grant-aided Colleges (Scotland) Grant Regulations 1989(5) in respect of the acquisition of, or expenditure on, any land or buildings which are transferred by Article 4 above, or such land or buildings have been provided with the aid of non-recurrent grant under any earlier regulations enabling the payment of non-recurrent grant in respect of grant-aided colleges, the provisions of the Grant-aided Colleges (Scotland) Grant Regulations 1989 shall (so far as applicable) continue to apply in respect of that land or those buildings as if the University were the governing body of a designated institution and the grant had been paid to the University.

Transfer of staff

6.—(1) Where a person is employed immediately before 1st October 1998 by the College company his contract of employment shall have effect on and after 1st October 1998 as if originally made between him and the University.

(2) Without prejudice to paragraph (1) above–

(a)all the rights, powers, duties and liabilities of the College company under or in connection with a contract to which that paragraph applies shall by virtue of this paragraph be transferred to the University on 1st October 1998; and

(b)anything done before that date by or in relation to the College company in respect of that contract or the employee shall be deemed on and after that date to have been done by or in relation to the University.

(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) above are without prejudice to any right of an employee to terminate his contract of employment if the terms and conditions of his employment are changed substantially to his detriment, but such change shall not be taken to have occurred by reason only of the fact that his employer is changed by virtue of this Article.

(4) Where a person–

(a)has, prior to 1st October 1998, entered into a contract of employment with the College company which is to come into effect on or after that date; and

(b)would, if the contract had come into effect before that date, have been an employee to whom the provisions of this Article would have applied,

he shall be treated for the purposes of this Article as if he were such an employee.

Dissolution of the College company

7.  The College company shall be dissolved on 1st October 1998.

Revocations

8.  The following instruments are hereby revoked–

(a)the Memorandum of Association of the College company dated 26th October 1922, as amended by special resolutions passed on 1st November 1968, 21st June 1990, 21st March 1991 and 17th December 1992 and by the provisions of paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Order of Council;

(b)the Articles of Association of the College company dated 26th October 1922, as amended by special resolutions passed on 27th December 1949, 27th December 1967, 21st June 1990 and 17th December 1992 and by the provisions of paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the Order of Council; and

(c)the Order of Council.

Amendments of Regulations relating to superannuation and compensation for premature retirement

9.  The provisions of the Regulations specified in the Schedule to this Order are amended as stated therein.

Helen Liddell
Minister of State Scottish Office
St Andrew’s House,
Edinburgh
3rd September 1998

Article 9

SCHEDULEAmendments of Regulations relating to superannuation and compensation for premature retirement

1.  In the Teachers (Compensation for Premature Retirement and Redundancy) (Scotland) Regulations 1996(6) in Schedule 1 there shall be inserted at the end the following paragraph:–

“10.  Heriot-Watt University.”.

2.  In the Teachers' Superannuation (Scotland) Regulations 1992(7), in Schedule 2, after paragraph 5C there shall be inserted the following paragraph:–

“5D.  Employment as a teacher in the Faculty of Engineering or the Faculty of Economic and Social Studies at Heriot-Watt University, where the teacher immediately before 1st October 1998 was in pensionable employment at the Scottish College of Textiles, was transferred to employment at Heriot-Watt University on 1st October 1998 and has not ceased to be employed in the Faculty of Engineering or the Faculty of Economic and Social Studies there at any time since that date.”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)
On 1st October 1998 the Scottish College of Textiles will cease to be a separate institution and will become part of Heriot-Watt University. This Order gives effect to that arrangement.
The Order closes the Scottish College of Textiles and winds up the company, also called Scottish College of Textiles (“the College company”), which conducts the College (Article 3) (this company, as the body corporate conducting the institution, is the governing body of the College in terms of section 56(1) of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, though the documents constituting the company describe the Governors who manage the affairs of the company as “the governing body”).
The Order transfers the whole property, rights, liabilities and obligations of the College company to Heriot-Watt University (Article 4) and makes consequential provision regarding property provided with the aid of grant (Article 5). It provides for staff of the College to transfer to employment by the University without a break in their employment (Article 6). It dissolves the College company (Article 7). It revokes the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of the College company and the Scottish College of Textiles (Scotland) Order of Council 1993 (Article 8) and makes consequential amendments to regulations governing superannuation and compensation for premature retirement to enable the present arrangements to continue to be available for transferred staff (Article 9).


(1)
1992 c. 37.

(2)
Established on 31st October 1922 with registered number SC012414 and Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 26th October 1922 as amended by special resolutions passed on 27th December 1949, 27th December 1967, 1st November 1968, 21st June 1990, 21st March 1991 and 17th December 1992 and by the provisions of paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the Order of Council.

(3)
S.I. 1993/2969.

(4)
Established by Royal Charter given on 4th March 1966 and written to the Seal and Registered and Sealed on 23rd March 1966 and amended by Her Majesty in Council on 13th May 1981.

(5)
S.I. 1989/433, amended by S.I. 1993/489.

(6)
S.I. 1996/2317; the relevant amending instrument is S.I 1998/1644.

(7)
S.I. 1992/280; the relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1992/1025, 1992/1597, 1993/490, 1994/1715 and 1998/1644.