Chamber and committees

You have picked up on what I was going to ask next about part-time courses.

I am interested in what you said about community learning and working with training providers, which is on-going with people in the college. What is different with those partnerships is that there is activity-based learning, group work, outdoor education and a focus on those kinds of things. What kind of joint work are you doing on that?

Not having different sports reinvent the wheel is certainly a good idea.

Lots of local clubs and regions have strong links with their communities, and there is some good work going on there. Are you thinking about ways in which you can tap into that and involve some of those people more? That is probably a question for Gordon Arthur.

So—

Are you looking to create opportunities or positions for such people who can really influence the ethos of and culture in sport?

Thank you. That was helpful. Is that at the centre of the high turnover in leadership of IJBs? Should we be doing anything in addition to what you have said to try to prevent that?

I thank the witnesses for coming along this morning.

These are extremely challenging times—and not just for cricket. Gordon Arthur has a lot on his plate, too. I also noted Forbes Dunlop’s comments about having the right level of support and expertise, and I do not know whether any additional support could be brought in to help with that.

With regard to developing communication strategies, are there specific examples of good practice from other sports that could be adapted and applied to cricket? That question is for Forbes Dunlop.

On leadership and chief officers, Vicky gave a good description of how difficult the role is when it is subordinate to chief executives of other bodies. We had a ministerial strategic group on how to improve collaborative working. How are the chief officers of IJBs currently supported and how do we help them? What changes do we need to make so that they have the power to lead effectively?

Certainly, I agree that the Scottish Government could do with a much bigger pie, too—that would be a huge help.

Mary Senior, you have already spoken about inflation, meaning that flat cash is decreasing in value. Like Ross Greer, I have huge sympathy with that point, but there is no getting away from that fact that the Scottish Government’s budget is also fixed. In reality, the Scottish Government’s limited powers over taxation mean that increasing university budgets means cutting other budgets. Wider cuts to health, social care, transport and so on will have an impact on student health, mental health and wellbeing, as well as on the rest of society.

You also spoke about the reality of international students plugging the funding gap. What are the biggest risks around that shift in majority funding from SFC to international and UK student fees? What risks does that present for Scotland’s universities and students?

How helpful is the resource spending trajectory for the next four years? Is there anything around climate that you want to mention?