Commentary on Sections Part 3: Miscellaneous Section 25: Appointment of Chief Education Officer
161.This section inserts new section 78 into the 1980 Act. New section 78 requires all education authorities to appoint a Chief Education Officer to advise the authority on the carrying out of its legislative functions under this Act and other legislation. Subsection (3) provides that the Scottish Ministers may prescribe the qualifications required for this role by regulations and that the Chief Education Officer must be appropriately experienced, as determined by the authority.
162.This provision will not prevent authorities from moving to a model of shared service delivery of functions such as education, whether within or across authorities. Nor will it compel authorities to have a Chief Education Officer in overall charge of the education service. It will simply ensure that the senior management team includes someone with an education background.
163.Councils are already required by law to designate senior managers to be Head of Paid Service (the Chief Executive), Monitoring Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Social Work Officer.