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Keith Brown is right to emphasise that, although the Government continues to make the commitment and the investment that is available within its constrained budget—I talked earlier about the 2.6 per cent increase in revenue funding for our colleges—we operate in an external environment that constantly presents challenges. Whether it is the austerity that has been delivered since 2010, Brexit, the external circumstances of the pandemic, the Liz Truss budget or the current employer national insurance increase from the Labour Party, those things have an impact, and they matter. [Interruption.]

The member is right to raise the importance of the contribution of the Alloa campus of Forth Valley College to the local community and the wide social and economic benefits that it provides. As the First Minister made clear earlier, this Government will make sure that everything is done to keep the campus open so that students in the area have access to the first-rate services and learning that the college provides.

As has been stated to Parliament, the Scottish Funding Council is working incredibly closely with the college on those matters, and we will seek to keep members with a local interest and Parliament more widely informed as the SFC continues that engagement. I look forward to further engagement with the member, and I thank him for constructively bringing that important matter to the chamber.

The question that I put to the member is this: if charging fees was a panacea for the situation, why are several higher education institutions in England, which have high tuition fees of more than £9,000 a year, struggling financially?

The question is how we work together with the sector to take a constructive way forward and look at alternative funding models. The Scottish Government continues to engage with Universities Scotland in that collaborative approach, along with other parties, so that we can ensure the sector’s long-term financial sustainability.

I seem to have a drummer to my left. [Laughter.]

I am not saying that that approach has been abandoned. I embrace it fully, and I want to bring the same approach to the process. I did not mean in any way to disrespect another member or to say, implicitly or directly, that I am closed to anything—apart from bringing in tuition fees, which the Scottish Government has had and continues to have a strong position on. That is our policy. I know that Willie Rennie is engaged in constructive discussions on alternative funding models, along with Universities Scotland. I look forward to further conversations with him, and I hope that this answer reassures him in that regard.

I thank the member for raising the contribution of further education colleges not just to the people who are involved in them and enrolled as students but to the national economy and the local economies where they operate.

The member will appreciate that the budget was set by the Parliament for this financial year and that the Funding Council and the Government—which is engaging with the Funding Council—are giving on-going consideration to the serious matters that are raised in the report. I would be happy to have further dialogue with the member on these matters.

The member talks about the pressure on the system. The austerity that the whole of the UK has had to live with since 2010 has not helped anyone in that regard, including our higher education system.

I appreciate the member’s points. However, he also seems to be making a point about—if I have heard this incorrectly, I am happy to be corrected—his belief that tuition fees should be reintroduced in Scotland. I do not share that approach, and neither does the Scottish Government.

Our approach of free tuition encourages individuals—young and older—to go into further and higher education to fulfil their potential without the consideration of the burden of debt. [Interruption.]

The member raises a point about the excellent university in her region. I have already had some engagement with that institution since coming into post last week. Members will appreciate that, through the budget process, the Government has shown a long-term commitment to universities by investing more than £1 billion in the sector every year since the 2012-13 financial year. That includes £1.1 billion for teaching and research in the previous budget.

However, we appreciate the pressures on the sector and the nature, context and substance of the reports that have been published. I look forward to engaging more with the Parliament on those important reports and questions, including at committee tomorrow. If the member wants to follow up with any specifics with regard to her region, I would be happy to receive that correspondence.

I would also be happy to engage with the member on the constructive correspondence that we can have with the UK Government to get it to play more of a part by using its massive financial power to support these very important contributors to the economy and to change its position on national insurance contributions and immigration policy, which have, in fact, damaged our higher education institutions.

I am aware of Keith Brown’s proactive approach to this serious matter in his constituency. As he set out, the campus in Alloa plays a vital role in providing access to services for people in the community, and I and the Government are keen that everything possible is done to keep the campus open.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council have identified a route by which some funding could be used this financial year to support urgent feasibility studies to inform the SFC’s forthcoming college infrastructure investment plan. The SFC is also working closely with the college sector to address infrastructure issues, including in the member’s constituency, and it continues to have close engagement with Forth Valley College on those matters.

I am grateful to the member for the engagement that he has shown so far, and I look forward to having further engagement with him on this matter of understandable concern in his constituency.

The Scottish Government has supported over 163,000 students through the sector. Record numbers of individuals come from care-experienced backgrounds or are receiving support through the disabled students allowance. We have also provided support for individuals who come from more deprived backgrounds. Widening access has been a great success.

It is important to reflect on the fact that, under this Government, thousands of people go through our further and higher education institutions very successfully every year. The member makes a point about funding for the college sector. As I stated in previous answers, this Government has dedicated billions of pounds annually to supporting the sector and does so in an environment in which it operates within a restricted financial envelope.

As I have stated since taking up the post, I am keen to work constructively with members. If, as we go into the Scottish budget, the Labour Party wants to come to me and colleagues with suggestions for that budget, we would be happy to receive them. The big question—