Chamber and committees

When I was in higher education, student unions were a source of revolution and agitation. I have not really picked that up today. The college sector has faced 10 years’ worth of cuts, it is getting flat cash over the next few years and 43,000 whole-time equivalent places have been lost over several years. I wonder why you are not angry and why you are not protesting.

I am surprised by the evidence that we have heard today. The sector has faced 10 years’ worth of cuts, 43,000 full-time or whole-time equivalent student places have been cut and there is a £51.9 million cut coming this academic year. We face a flat-cash scenario until 2027. However, you do not seem angry. I am really surprised that you are not angry. If I were you, I would be spitting mad. Why is that not the case?

Yes. I have a constituency case involving a Ukrainian student who is living here. They have been taken in by a family in North East Fife, but they are studying in Ukraine. They cannot receive any universal credit support because they are classed as a student, and they cannot receive any student support because they are studying in a Ukrainian university.

On the back of the statutory instrument before us, I am keen that we write to the relevant ministers in the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments to ask them to sort out the situation and make up their minds. Are such people students or are they ordinary citizens? One way or the other, they should get some support. I do not mind which kind of support they get, as long as they get something, because we need to provide proper hospitality for them.

You are a great diplomat. You mentioned management several times, but are you both not just victims of Government policy?

Would other witnesses like to come in?

For as long as I have been in the Parliament, colleges have faced significant cuts in funding. Those institutions are a shadow of what they used to be, even though regionalisation was supposed to strengthen the sector. In describing the result, you talked about stability, but I would describe this—perhaps unfairly—as a crisis situation in which you are trying to hold things together. You face potential industrial action. Things in the sector are not easy. A significant number of places have been cut. Do you agree with that characterisation? If so, why are we in this situation? Does the Government not value you?

I will ask my original question, convener. Sorry for going on a bit.

I have just changed the question that I was going to ask. I will come back to my original question in a moment, but I am intrigued by what Nora Senior has just said. What does that flexing mean? Why is it not happening already?

I am sorry to dig further into that, but I am intrigued. All of that sounds very sensible, and I am wondering why it has not happened already.

Is there any effect due to the lack of universality—as in, universal in every community across the country—of the offer? From what I have observed, the provision for two-year-olds is not available in every community; some people have to travel to get it. Does that have an effect?