Reform: the swifter the better

An earlier post on this blog noted the remarkably short timescale which the Government has agreed with the Scottish Law Commission regarding its new criminal justice projects. I have just seen an article in the Times Higher Education Supplement by Fiona Hyslop, the Education Secretary, which provides some insight into the Government’s current thinking on the appropriate timescale for review projects:

“As we work to build a prosperous and sustainable economic future for our nation, I believe the time is right to consider what Scotland needs from its universities between now and 2028.

That’s the role of our Joint Future Thinking Task Force. I want this to be a short, sharp exercise that delivers results – not a talking shop or an independent inquiry that takes two years to reach a conclusion.”

(“Building on the past, looking to the future”, THES 21 December 2007. For the Government’s press release (20/12/07) announcing the creation of the taskforce, which is to meet monthly until this summer, click here.)