Chamber and committees

Certainly, the evidence that was given to the committee by the student representatives who came to speak with you was that the ability for the student voice to be heard in the college environment is real. I know that you spoke with Micole Cochrane from West Lothian College Student Association, who talked about that and said that students have the ability to interact. Al Wilson at Edinburgh College Students Association said the same. Amy Monks from Dundee and Angus College Students Association talked about the ability to influence service design methodology. The organisation of student associations was a positive consequence of regionalisation. Many of the pre-existing, smaller colleges did not have that infrastructure at all.

I expect every college to ensure that the student voice is heard and to reflect on how the student body is constituted, to ensure that every element of it is heard. That goes back to my earlier point about whom Scotland’s colleges are supporting. In 2020-21, more than a fifth of learning hours were delivered to students with a declared disability. That is a substantial proportion of the student body. Their voices should, of course, be heard, and, if I had any suggestions that they were not being heard, I would have no hesitation in picking up that issue.

I cannot sit here and say that. What I can tell you is—

My ambition is to do it as soon as possible, to resolve some of the issues that have been raised—by Mr Doris, primarily, and by Mr Marra before for him, and now by you, Mr Kerr. I recognise that we can improve these things, and I am committed to doing that. We will look at it.

I am looking to provide that next year.

That is all part of the same equation. To do that realistically will require capital investment, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. Again, I expect that to be part of the considerations of the SFC’s report, which will inform the decisions that we take.

No, there is nothing specific that I can say beyond the fact that those matters will always remain a consideration.

Colleges Scotland made the point in evidence that it is not necessarily about looking for universities to get less money; so, on that basis, additional resource would be required. I go back to the point that I already made about where we are with the budgetary position right now, which is that the Scottish Government budget today is worth around £1.7 billion less in real terms than it was when we published it in December 2021. That said, it is incumbent on us to always consider those things, and we will continue to keep the matter under review.

I have not said at any stage that it is not a priority for me, so I do not know how you have drawn that conclusion.

Before I address the subject matter for today, I thank you and the committee for enabling me to participate remotely in short order. I very much appreciate it. I promise to try not to make a habit of busting my ankle, and I hope to be with you in person the next time .

It has been more than a decade since the Scottish Government announced changes to the college landscape as part of wider reforms introduced by the Post-16 Education (Scotland) Act 2013, which led to college regionalisation. I am happy to be here to talk about college regionalisation with you.

Our colleges are vital not just in the delivery of education, but in addressing some of the greatest challenges that Scotland faces today. Colleges deliver the skilled workforce for much of Scotland’s foundational economy, with college graduates becoming electric car mechanics or business owners in the travel and tourism sector, pursuing careers in digital infrastructure, or providing care to people in our hospitals and care homes. Those are only a few examples of the excellence in Scotland’s college sector—an excellence that I have been privileged to witness at first hand in my many visits to our colleges. I am sure that that experience is shared by you, convener, and by other committee members when you are undertaking visits to your local colleges.

Scotland’s colleges give people who face the greatest barriers to learning the opportunity to fulfil their potential. In 2020-21, more than a fifth—22.6 per cent—of learning hours were delivered to students with a declared disability, 6.4 per cent of learning hours were delivered to those with care experience and 16.3 per cent of learning hours were delivered to those from the 10 per cent most economically deprived areas.

Regionalisation has brought a number of benefits. Colleges are anchor institutions in their local economies and communities, delivering through regional partnerships with universities, schools, local authorities and businesses in their areas. As you have heard directly from college principals, that has led to universities and colleges creating clearer progression routes to higher levels of study, from traditional articulation models to integrated learner journeys.

Of course, I recognise the significant impacts of the pandemic. There was clear adaptability and resilience on the part of students and staff in our college sector in pivoting to digital delivery and the challenge of impacts on mental health and wellbeing. We, as a Government, will continue to address the legacy of Covid-19 and take on board the lessons learned as we plan for the future.

As we continue to move forward from the pandemic, collaborative working to deliver shared outcomes remains essential. Regionalisation has improved the resilience of the college sector, delivering efficiencies and benefits of scale, and putting colleges on a better footing to work with more difficult financial realities that are being felt across the public sector.

We face significant funding pressures and we are thinking carefully and creatively to ensure that we continue to deliver for Scotland’s learners. I assure colleges that we will continue to engage with them throughout the budget process.

Despite the challenges that we face—I do not pretend that there are no challenges—we are building on strong foundations. In previous sessions, the committee discussed the development of the purpose and principles for post-school education, skills development and research. That work is about setting the direction for the longer term, aligning and galvanising all actors and supporting reform and continuous improvement to deliver lasting change for future generations, ensuring that we continue to meet the changing demands of Scotland’s learners and our future economy.

I look forward to seeing the conclusions from the committee’s inquiry, which will help to inform our considerations as we move forward. Along with my officials, I look forward to answering any questions that you and the committee may have for me.

I would not pretend that there are no challenges in trying to manage that budget. We will have to work closely with college principals and the wider workforce to work our way through that. In my opening statement, I made the point that I will work collaboratively with Scotland’s colleges to respond to that challenge. It is a sincere and genuine commitment.

I observe that some of those challenges are ones that we have to grapple with across the entirety of Scotland’s budget. We estimate that the budget position today is worth some £1.7 billion less than it was when we published the budget in December 2021. That is no small challenge, but we are committed to ensuring that, as much as possible, we invest in the front line for Scotland’s college sector. I am committed to working with the colleges to do that.

I observe that, to a greater or lesser degree, that is outwith our hands. We cannot direct the Office for National Statistics to determine how it will classify any entity. We did not ask it to reclassify Scotland’s colleges. That was a decision that it took.

To be fair, there is a legitimate question as to whether we could adjust the set-up of Scotland’s incorporated colleges—not every college is incorporated, but the vast majority of them are. We could reconsider that proposition, although there would be no guarantee that the ONS would not still say that, under its classification, the colleges are classified as public bodies.

On balance, notwithstanding some of the challenges that we have, it is appropriate and correct that we continue to operate in the environment that we have with regard to how incorporated colleges are structured. It has been in place for a long time. It emanates largely from a piece of legislation from 1993, so it predates devolution, let alone the current Administration. On balance, that is the correct formula for our relationship with them as largely publicly funded bodies.

In response to the Scottish Funding Council’s review on sustainability, I have committed to consider whether there can be further flexibilities to help colleges to better address some of the challenges. We are committed to doing that and we are examining it with the SFC. We have made a commitment to Colleges Scotland that we will do it on an expedited basis, because I know that colleges are looking for those measures in fairly short order.