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I will continue with the theme of the impact that the budgetary issues are having on our college estates. Like Bob Doris, I will use a case study—in this case, New College Lanarkshire. The halls of residence at the Motherwell campus have closed and the nurseries at the Cumbernauld and Coatbridge campuses have also closed. Those closures impact not just the hard-working staff at those facilities but our learners, whether rural young people who look to study in more urban areas or students with young children.

In last week’s debate, I referred to the example of a young person from Argyll who is no longer able to go to college because the student accommodation on the Motherwell campus has closed. We are moving beyond the stage where things are deeply regrettable and can now see the direct consequences that budgetary issues have for our young people.

What support is the Government offering for students who find themselves in such circumstances? Is the Government saying that rural young people cannot go to college because of budget cuts?

I can agree with you on that point, minister, but I hope that you share my concern that closing student accommodation will directly prevent young people from doing that.

Finally, on the back of the issues surrounding New College Lanarkshire, Unison is calling for a review of college finances and governance. What is the minister’s response to that? Will a full review take place?

I have a quick supplementary question. I take your point on that, minister, but it comes down to choices—all Governments have to make choices. Given the budgetary concerns that you have just voiced, I would have expected that the student exchange programme would have been brought to the Scottish Government Cabinet, to be discussed at a higher level. My understanding is that the issue has not been brought to Cabinet, but please correct me if I am wrong on that.

There does not seem to be a consistent thread of reporting on the programme. Why is that the case? Why have progress reports not been provided? An important element of the programme’s implementation is to ensure that people are updated on the progress that the Government is making.

That is fine—thank you very much, Liz. I have one question for our friends on the Taith team.

Thank you so much for that summary—funding, governance, inclusion, youth organisation involvement, the focus on young people and being flexible. There is a lot that we can learn from that.

I think that we have heard that through your contributions so far.

Has the Government team explained what it is waiting for? Is it waiting for the green light to create the policy and get it approved in Parliament? Why are we somewhat stuck in limbo on this? I am really keen to try to move things along; I think that colleagues around the table feel the same.

Thank you, convener. It is helpful that, if we have got a date of September 2025, that is the date that we work towards. It is imperative that we try to work together to realise this by that date.

I will move to questions to our Taith colleagues. I am so keen to hear about all the work that you have been doing in relation to the programme and the success that you have had thus far. What advice could you offer to us here in Scotland about setting up a similar programme? Do you have any advice for Scottish institutions on how they could expand their international exchange programmes, too?

Good morning, everyone.

I will pick up on the progress that we need to make here in Scotland in order to introduce and create a Scottish equivalent of what our friends in Wales have managed to achieve. So far this morning, we have heard about a survey that has gone out to our youth organisations, and we have heard that there were frequent meetings until February or March. I understand that there have been a few changes, but are you able to tell the committee whether it would be helpful if those meetings reconvened?

It would be good to have our youth organisations back around the table talking about the matter openly, to encourage the Government to move ahead and get a programme up and running. We are now halfway through 2023, so I am a little bit worried that it is now a slowed process. Liz Green, is it likely that we will be able to launch a programme similar to that of our friends in Wales, given the timeframes that we are now up against?

I refer to my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I am a serving councillor in North Lanarkshire Council.

I would like to pick up on the NHS whistleblowing service, and in particular the relatively low number of cases and inquiries coming into the new independent national whistleblowing officer. What will the SPSO do to raise awareness among front-line NHS staff?

On your point about receiving data from the boards, how do you intend to keep that continuous? It might go well at the beginning and then tail off, particularly as boards are dealing with a number of issues just now. How do you intend to keep it going and ensure that you get the data so that you can make improvements?