Education Trust Fund Sub Committee

On Thursday the 21 November 2024, the Education Committee will be presented with an Education Trust Fund report that asks Members to approve the formation of an Education Trust Fund Sub Committee.

There are significant funds held by The Highland Council in trust for the educational benefit within different communities. For the financial year 2023-24, this amounted to approximately £3m in capital funds, and a further £0.43m in revenue reserves. Assets include investments carried at a cost of £0.068m, which had a market value of £2.439m on 31 March 2024. The trusts generated revenue funds of approximately £0.175m for that year. Awards from the various trust funds amounted to approximately £0.035m, with the surplus, after payments of other expenses, returned to capital funds and reinvested.

Education Committee Chair, Cllr John Finlayson said: “The recent work undertaken to update the various trust schemes to improve governance and ensure that children, young people and adult learners benefit from the intentions and bequests of the scheme founders is long overdue.

“If Members agree on Thursday to the formation of an Education Trust Fund Sub Committee it will meet twice per year (or more as necessary) to receive reports, recommendations and approve the awarding of grants, scholarships and prizes across the Highland Council area.

“There is approx. £5.5M in trust funds and these significant funds include university and college bursaries, prizes to schools and for sports.”

Some of the bequests go back to the nineteenth century, including a bequest from John Macdonald of Exeter son of Flora MacDonald, born on 30 October 1759 at Kingsburgh House on the Isle of Skye, John pursued a military career, serving as a lieutenant-colonel and military engineer. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society (F.R.S.) and the Society of Antiquaries (F.A.S.). John MacDonald passed away on 16 August 1831 in Exeter, Devon, England, and was buried in Exeter Cathedral.

Should there be approval to form a sub-committee, it would be necessary to have the first meeting in December to scrutinise the proposed modernised schemes in order that grant applications may be opened in January. The new arrangements would be reviewed after 6 months, and an update report brought to Committee.

The full report can be accessed here (Item 13).