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Autumn.

I appreciate the point that, particularly with capital projects, there are timeline considerations and there is a need to work carefully to make sure that different funding streams align in order for projects to progress.

As you would expect, ministers and the SFC are engaged with the colleges that have specific pressing issues and concerns, such as Dundee and Angus College—I know that the committee has rightly shown a keen interest in Forth Valley College and the Alloa campus, as well—and seek to support them in finding solutions. For example, at the end of this month, I am chairing—along with the principal of Forth Valley College—a meeting at the Alloa campus with all relevant stakeholders in the area and the community to make sure that we are turning over every stone to seek solutions that will make a positive impact and retain the Alloa campus.

We are working proactively with those organisations, whether it is Dundee and Angus College or Forth Valley College, and we are looking to support them in their endeavours to make partnerships with other organisations and businesses in the area. As I said, this infrastructure investment plan for the SFC is an important piece of work. Of course, the SFC needs time to present that plan and to do it thoroughly, and the autumn timeline is where matters are right now.

I am sorry to interrupt but, as a point of clarification, it is important to emphasise that those organisations are in touch with the SFC on a regular basis, and ministers also receive correspondence. There is engagement with the SFC and solutions are being sought. We now have clarity, should the Parliament agree to the budget—I think that it should, obviously—that there will be more resource available. That is all part of how we make progress to deal with the matter.

These are real issues, which Mr Briggs and others are right to raise, but the SFC is having constructive engagement with principals and boards, and Scottish ministers are supporting that where we can. The budget is crucial to ensuring that additional resource is available to help with such matters.

I do not want to speak on the SFC’s behalf—it is for it to articulate this—but it might choose to utilise some of that £8.2 million capital spend to support individual institutions in the shorter term with the challenges that they have. However, certainly, that capital resource that has been allocated to the SFC for college capital spending will be considered for spending as part of the infrastructure investment plan.

We anticipate that about 30,000 new apprenticeship opportunities will be provided in the 2026-27 financial year, which is similar to the number in the previous financial year. As has been the case in previous financial years, we anticipate that most of those opportunities will be modern apprenticeships. For example, in the previous financial year, about 25,500 new modern apprenticeships were provided.

Foundation apprenticeships and graduate apprenticeships are also being delivered. About 5,000 foundation apprenticeships and about 1,200 graduate apprenticeships were provided in the previous financial year. As we discussed in the chamber yesterday, there is a strong ambition to deliver more graduate apprenticeships. We are working with the sector on that and on how to improve graduate apprenticeships through our considerations on frameworks. Earlier this month, I held a very productive round-table meeting with key stakeholders, with lots of actions being taken forward as a result.

As we discussed in the chamber yesterday, foundation apprenticeships have been a success story. The Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill will rename them as work-based learning. A lot of good work is being done to build on the delivery of foundation apprenticeships, and we look forward to working with partners on that.

For absolute clarity, colleges are crucial in tackling poverty. About a third of university entrants come from colleges, some people go straight on to college courses, and some attend college as part of an apprenticeship programme, so the impact of colleges is clear.

I was at the event that evening, too, and there was some jubilation in the room, I thought.

Maybe that was more to do with the announcements that Ross Greer and I made on fair work. There was definitely a sense that the uplift in funding was important and welcome, although I appreciate that there are thoughts and concerns about what it means going forward.

I refer back to what I said earlier about the work on sustainability, which builds on the very good tripartite engagement that there has been for some time between the Government, the SFC and Colleges Scotland, and on how we progress that tripartite work to a formal process of consideration on sustainability and the future, as we are doing with universities. My strong ambition is, before Parliament rises for the election, to have that up and running with the college sector in a way that is similar to how it is running with the university sector. That will help the next Government and Parliament in the next session with the priorities for the college sector, in terms of funding and change.

I caught some of the follow-up from last week’s session. I did not manage to watch it all, as I am sure colleagues will appreciate—

The tripartite group has spoken about a number of matters, and I think that it would perhaps be more helpful for the committee if I took away an action to assess the tripartite group minutes and identify what might be of interest to the committee in order to share that at this juncture.

However, it is also important that we move forward in a spirit of genuine partnership, and I would want Colleges Scotland to be at the table to articulate that kind of detail to the committee and to speak on behalf of the sector. Therefore, if Ross Greer is content, I would rather take the issue away and ensure that I communicate not just accurately and thoroughly on things that have been considered already as part of the tripartite group, but in a way that is respectful of our college partners and the SFC.

10:45