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The Scottish higher and further education funding councils will have to defend their roles to Scotland's first minister, Henry McLeish, as he threatens a "bonfire of the quangos".

Mr McLeish said: "Every quango will be asked the why question: why do they exist, what are they doing, who are they representing, how much money are they spending?" There is widespread support from the tertiary sector for the funding councils as buffer bodies between institutions and the Scottish Executive.