The St Mary’s Music School – Aided Places
Summary of Information
As part of the IMA’s remit to monitor what potential issues EU and EEA EFTA citizens may be facing, we monitor legislation and guidance from public authorities so that potential problems can be spotted before issues arise.
In June 2022, the IMA conducted a review of The St Mary’s Music School (Aided Places) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 (“the Regulations”) which provide the legislative framework for the administration of the aided places scheme for pupils attending St Mary’s Music School in Scotland.
Further details of the Legislation Monitoring review can be found on our website.
Following this , the IMA has been in further contact with the Scottish Government and worked with them to agree how to resolve the issues identified within the review.
Summary of Actions and Evidence
The subsequent actions to be completed by the Scottish Government are set out below:
- Confirm timescales for amending the St Mary’s Music School (Aided Places) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 (“the Regulations”) ( by December 31st, 2022 at the latest)
- The Scottish Government to confirm what steps they/the School have taken to ensure that no children with rights under the Agreements will be disadvantaged pending amendment of the Regulations (by November 30th, 2022).
- The Scottish Government to review all applications for grant-aided places to the School from 1st January 2021 to date and confirm to the IMA whether any applications in respect of children within scope of the Agreements have been wrongly decided on the basis of the Regulations, and if so what, if any, further action has been taken. (by November 30th, 2022
Summary of Decision
On the basis of the proposed actions that the Scottish Government has agreed to, the IMA believes that the potential concerns identified can be resolved and the issue concluded as an Early Case Resolution.
The IMA will monitor the Scottish Government’s compliance with these actions with a proposed end date of 31 December 2022. An updated will be published at the end of the monitoring phase.
Update of Monitoring and Compliance
The IMA has concluded the Monitoring & Compliance period with the Scottish Government and consider the actions that have been completed will resolve the potential systemic issues identified.
However, should the IMA receive any further intelligence or complaints regarding the issue in future, further enquiries may be made with the relevant public authority, wherever necessary.
