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I thank Richard Leonard for his engagement on the matter. In relation to the Alloa campus, I have valued questions from members across the chamber, including from Keith Brown last week, who have advocated on behalf of the campus.

We recognise that, as has been set out, including in the Audit Scotland report this week, colleges are anchor bodies in communities. The Alloa campus plays an important role in helping young people and others in Clackmannanshire to fulfil their potential, build their skills and contribute fully.

The Scottish Government is engaged on the issue, as members would expect. Ministers are regularly being updated on the matter and, crucially, the Scottish Funding Council is engaged with Forth Valley College on the Alloa campus. We will continue to update the Parliament as appropriate, and we will continue our proactive engagement with the Scottish Funding Council.

I thank Richard Leonard for the warm welcome and express to him that the Scottish Government values and works to support all those who work in further and higher education in our country. I have valued the opportunities to express that since coming into post less than a month ago.

Our most recent budget allowed the Scottish Funding Council to increase revenue funding to colleges by 2.6 per cent and funding to universities by 3.3 per cent. However, we recognise the pressures that both sectors face, which have been set out clearly by Audit Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council. My ministerial colleagues and I will continue to work collaboratively on those challenges with both sectors and with the Parliament.

I thank the member for raising those important matters. The Scottish Government continues to provide unparalleled support to care-experienced students in the form of a non-means-tested bursary of £9,000—the first of its kind in the UK. All of Scotland’s universities are committed to guaranteeing a university place to care-experienced applicants who meet minimum entry requirements. I am proud that there has been an increase in care-experienced students attending university every year since 2016. Support for mature learners is also a priority, and we continue to fund the Scottish wider access programme, which supports thousands of learners to return to higher education each year.

The member is right that we need to support people through their journey. That is why provision through the Scottish loan system and Student Awards Agency Scotland support is significant and makes an important difference for people throughout their journey.

As I said in my first answer, I appreciate that there is more work to do. We have made a lot of progress since 2016, and I would be pleased to engage with Pam Duncan-Glancy on those points as we collectively try not just to enhance the opportunities of people going to university but to help them to complete their journey and succeed thereafter.

The cabinet secretary maintains regular communication with Cabinet colleagues on matters of importance to the Government, including supporting people in Aberdeen and elsewhere to gain the skills for the energy transition in the north-east, which is a key priority. We will continue to work with regional partners to help to ensure that the workforce is equipped for the opportunities ahead. Targeted funding is already in place to support skills for the energy transition, in recognition of high demand, and colleagues and I will continue to engage with all partners, including Jackie Dunbar, in this shared endeavour.

My colleagues and I welcome today’s debate, which is on matters that are important to all of us as we represent our constituents. We also welcome the opportunity to respond to the motion and restate the Scottish Government’s strong commitment to supporting our people to fulfil their potential and to tackling the skills shortages in our economy.

We are focused on building a fair, prosperous and successful economy, which is supported by an education and skills system that is flexible and ready to meet the needs of people, communities and employers. We know that Scotland’s future success depends on creating good jobs and making sure that people have the right opportunities and skills to access them.

I will come on to the specifics in due course, but, in response to Ms Smith, and in general terms, I emphasise that our colleges, employers, universities and trading providers are key to helping people to gain the skills that they need. Collectively, we members of the Scottish Government greatly value their contribution, especially in delivering a record number of apprenticeships and in helping so many school leavers to move on to positive destinations.

Our amendment sets out our record on young people and others achieving positive destinations, as well as the significant investment that has been made this financial year. It also states that we note the terms of the Audit Scotland report. We know that there is more work to do. We are committed to a new national approach to skills planning, which will be led by the Scottish Government. Its aim will be to better align post-school education and training pathways with Scotland’s long-term skills needs, especially in key sectors of our economy that support the move to net zero.

We are working closely with the Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland to take that forward. Together, we have agreed a model for skills planning that we will shape through engagement with colleges, universities, employers and regional partners. That collaborative approach means that we can move quickly and make real progress. We are also working with regional economic partnerships, which are really important, to build on what is already working well and to strengthen regional skills planning.

Our goal is to empower regions to deliver on their economic and social ambitions while contributing to national priorities. We want the post-school system to be more responsive to regional needs, and we are building on the strong foundations that have been set through the Scottish Funding Council’s regional tertiary pathfinders programme, along with other local initiatives.

However, there are limits to what we can do on our own. We do not operate in a bubble. The impact of Brexit and the United Kingdom Government’s migration system has undoubtedly added to labour market pressures—that is a fact—and we continue to make the case for a more flexible and responsive approach to migration that reflects Scotland’s specific needs.

The Scottish Government is proud to work alongside Scotland’s colleges on how they are delivering as anchor institutions in our communities. Yesterday, I visited Glasgow Kelvin College in Pam Duncan-Glancy’s region, and I was hugely impressed by everyone with whom I engaged there. In my role I am committed to having positive, constructive and proactive engagement with our college sector, and I am proud to have done that in the days in which I have been in post so far.

Although, as I have mentioned, tackling certain pressures is out of our hands, we are not standing still. We are taking responsibility and making progress. We know that transformation takes time, and we accept that action is needed now to address the skills gaps that constrain parts of our economy from fulfilling their full potential. That is why, alongside our long-term reform, we are continuing to invest in sectors that are important to Scotland’s economic future, including offshore wind, social care, engineering and advanced manufacturing.

Building on that commitment, we have agreed with the Energy Skills Partnership a new grant to deliver a college-led offshore wind skills programme, backed by up to £3 million in 2025-26. There is more that I could say on that, but my ministerial colleague might touch on it in his closing speech on behalf of the Government.

As I close my own speech on behalf of the Government in this important debate, I say that, by working together as a Parliament, we can create more opportunities for our people, strengthen our regions and power Scotland’s future economy. We welcome this opportunity to discuss those really important matters in the chamber.

I move amendment S6M-19253.3, to leave out from “with concern” to end and insert:

“the Audit Scotland report entitled, Scotland’s colleges 2025, and the importance of continued investment in Scotland’s colleges and skills system to support inclusive economic success, prosperity and job creation, including provision of around three quarters of a billion pounds in Scotland’s colleges in 2025-26, and an additional £3.5 million for skills, through the Scottish Budget; acknowledges that this is particularly important in the thriving sectors, like those critical to realising the transition to net zero, and the shared opportunities of this; recognises the key role that colleges, employers and training providers have played in ensuring that 93% of school leavers have a positive destination, and providing apprenticeships and training to a record 39,000 individuals, and notes, however, concern about the impact of Brexit and the UK Government's migration system, which is contributing to key skills gaps and labour market shortages.”

I respect Mr Marra, as well as Mr Fraser. If the members read the Scottish Government’s amendment, they will see that it notes the Audit Scotland report.

rose—