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On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I was not able to log in. I would have voted no.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My vote did not register. I would have voted no.

Following the Audit Scotland report last week, and prior to that with regard to the Scottish Funding Council reports, we have collectively discussed in the Parliament, and at length, the importance of colleges as anchor institutions, which I mentioned earlier, and the roles that they play in enhancing skills, creating a fairer society and providing locally accessible learning facilities.

As well as appreciating my engagement with the Parliament so far, I welcome the positive engagement that I have had with Colleges Scotland, as the body that represents colleges. I had a really good visit to Kelvin College in Glasgow earlier this week. We need to have engagement with the college sector on sustainable funding, and we look forward to having that further engagement in the weeks and months ahead. I look forward to my next meeting with Colleges Scotland and discussing how we can collectively bring everyone with an interest round the table to ensure that we support our colleges and provide sustainable funding into the future.

We are committed to boosting skills among Scotland’s young people, especially in vital sectors such as those relating to the energy transition. Although we pursue long-term reform of post-school education and skills, we recognise that there is an urgent need to meet current demands. That is why we are providing targeted funding to colleges in 2025-26 for an offshore wind skills programme. That will create training hubs to build the skilled workforce that is needed for our offshore wind ambitions and will support the upskilling and reskilling that will aid energy transition. The funding enables new courses to be provided, strengthens college staff capacity and invests in facilities across strategically important regions for the offshore wind industry.

In addition, alongside the United Kingdom Government, we are providing up to £2 million of funding to Forth Valley College to support workers at Grangemouth to transition into those key sectors.

As Parliament knows from contributions that I have made previously, I highly value youth work, and I am looking at ways to provide further support. At present, the Scottish Government funds youth work provision in a variety of ways, most prominently through local authority block grants, which give councils significant autonomy to provide youth work in their area.

I am looking forward to engaging with the youth work sector in my role and will be doing so in the weeks ahead. The member speaks about youth work in terms of preventative spending and its power to help young people to realise their potential, which allows them to contribute more to society and the economy. I believe in that deeply, and I see it in my local constituency through organisations such as the Citadel Youth Centre. I have forgiven the member for not inviting me to the launch of his bill in my constituency in Leith.

Although I not dismissing the considerations around the need for primary legislation, most important, we must consider the current needs in communities, which I am engaged with. We have provided a lot of additional resource—more than £1.1 billion in 2025-26, which is a real-terms increase of 5.5 per cent—to local authorities. Without disrespecting the Verity house agreement, we need to consider whether local authorities are investing enough in youth work and what other ways we can provide additional youth work support where there is need and demand, given the current circumstances.

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.

The number of Scots from the most deprived areas who enter university has increased by 37 per cent since the Scottish Government established the commission on widening access, and the latest Universities and Colleges Admissions Service statistics show that record numbers of young Scots from deprived areas were accepted to study at university in 2025.

However, we know that there is more to do. We will continue to work with the sector, and with the commissioner for fair access, to make further progress on fair access to higher education. That includes our on-going exploration of data-sharing options to better support disadvantaged individuals and communities.

I have welcomed engagement on UHI since coming into post, including from Jamie Halcro Johnston and the members who are sitting behind him. The provision across the Highlands and Islands, which is, of course, a wide geographical area, is extremely important for those communities and for the country more widely.

It is important to recognise that, when students go to a university in Scotland, their fees are paid for by the Government—by the taxpayer. That helps people to access those opportunities. There is a situation, as set out by the Scottish Funding Council, with regard to the sustainable funding of the sector, and I spoke earlier about how we are engaged in that and how we engage with Universities Scotland.

I recognise that local authorities have significant resource and a responsibility to invest in youth work. We are investing through other avenues where we can, including through Youth Scotland and YouthLink Scotland. We have invested £2 million since 2023 through community-based national youth work organisations. I will continue to consider how central Government, working with local government, while respecting the Verity house agreement, can support the important contribution that youth work makes to our communities.