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Thanks for that.

We have become acutely aware of the unstable financial environment in which colleges are operating, and we are now seeing that in the university sector as well. The Institute for Fiscal Studies calculates that the resources that are available for undergraduates in Scotland are around 21 per cent lower than those for undergraduates at English universities, for example. We have heard the cabinet secretary’s views on the current funding model, but universities across Scotland are calling for the Government to review that model. Is the Scottish Government willing to look at that model, or does it just understand that more universities will end up in a more difficult financial situation in the future?

I am not sure whether I heard in your answer that you accept that, after 18 years of the policy on free tuition, the sector is saying that it is not working, and that the Government is willing to review it. The cabinet secretary may want to give a yes or no answer to that.

That is helpful—thank you. Given the implementation date of 1 January, that data will just be coming forward now.

Finally, I wish to return to Bill Kidd’s question regarding mental health support and the £18.8 million that the cabinet secretary cut from the budget. Colleges Scotland has provided a very useful suggestion regarding a national benchmark, and the minister touched on that. We know that there is a postcode lottery for the provision of mental health services for college students. Are the cabinet secretary and minister actively taking that matter forward? I did not pick that up from the minister’s answers.

As we know, and as the cabinet secretary has said, the level of need has changed following the pandemic. We have record levels of suicide in our student population, which must be addressed. I am concerned about the £18.8 million cut to mental health services—which is a direct cut to student mental health services.

The sector is saying that the financing model is not currently working, and we know that that is why there are all these problems. Apart from the Government saying that it wants to continue the free tuition policy, what is the Government going to do about the current state of the finances for our university and colleges sector? There is clearly a need for cross-party review to look at how more resource can be put into the university and college sector, which the Government does not currently have any access to.

The specific issue with regard to Dundee university, as we have heard today, is deeply concerning, but I want to pick up on the minister’s comment that he hopes that university courts are looking at their finances. Has the Government decided to look at the issue of financial sustainability or to commission a piece of work through, for example, Audit Scotland, to see where we can potentially have better oversight of what is going on with university finances? Is that a special piece of work that ministers have looked to commission?

What about a review?

Something that stuck with me following our visit to the Broomlee centre is that it has been 80 years since a significant piece of legislation has been passed in the UK to expand outdoor education—the Education Act 1944, which is often called the Butler act. That was the foundation for the building of that centre.

I have a question about the capacity that is currently in the sector for the increased demand. Some useful data was shown to us on peaks and troughs; obviously, those are very much related to school holidays. What work has been undertaken on the bill to envisage what that would look like—not necessarily just at centres, but, as you mentioned, at camping and hostel sites as well? To what extent could different models be used?

I have a question about current capacity. As an Edinburgh member, I see my schools benefiting from the centres that we have, and schools in Aberdeenshire and the Ayrshires also have that opportunity. Do you see the bill as a way of correcting the postcode lottery that has been created, with some councils continuing to value outdoor education while others have allowed it to disappear?

In the interests of full transparency, I think that we should put it on the record that Mr Mason got a lift back to Edinburgh with the convener.

As it is the season of good will, I start by paying tribute to the work that Liz Smith has done on the bill, which has been really important for the debate. The people we met on Monday who have been involved were pleased that we are having the debate and about what it means for the future.

When we met people at the Broomlee centre, they outlined some other funds that they see groups receiving—the Robertson Trust was mentioned to us specifically. Are there other examples of funding from the third sector or of philanthropic funding opportunities? What elements of delivery of the bill could that fund—be it the teaching experience or the capacity and capital spend that we might need?