Chamber and committees

I ask the panel members in the room to introduce themselves.

No one is indicating that they do.

Interaction with the business community was mentioned, and I know that Audrey Cumberford is the co-author of a report that addressed the colleges’ relationship to the economy and which spoke about the extent to which more could be done to build better relationships with the small and medium-sized enterprises sector. Audrey Cumberford, do you want to come in briefly on that point?

That is a fascinating insight.

Yes, I will bring you back in before we finish. Sharon Dowey has a directly related question on the Scottish Qualifications Authority situation.

I will try to move us on in our final minutes of looking into college performance. The Auditor General’s blog did not have a deep dive, audit style, into some of the criteria that I think are important for us to at least discuss. I am thinking for example about student numbers, the goals to widen access, completion rates or dropout rates and what is going on there, what has been going on during the pandemic and what the challenges are beyond the pandemic. I wonder whether anybody wants to start with their observations on those issues.

I will come back to Matt Crilly shortly, but Gillian Ritchie wanted to come in on these questions.

Does anybody else want to come in on that before I go back to Matt Crilly?

The programme for government contains a commitment to look at a range of substantial reforms to student support. I want to start with you, Matt, but I am sure that other people will have a view on what those reforms might look like, what some of the consequences might be and how important they are. In your last contribution, you spoke about the financial precariousness in which many students find themselves. I will ask you to go first, but I am sure that some of the other witnesses will want to comment on that bigger reform programme.

Does anybody else want to come in on student support and its consequences for the health and performance of the sector?

That brings an end to our session. I thank all the witnesses very much, both those who are in the committee room with us and those who joined us by videolink. The quality of evidence that you have given us has been outstanding, so I place on the record my thanks for the time that you have given and the thought that you have put into the evidence that you have presented to us. It really is appreciated.

I will draw to an end the public part of the meeting. We now move into private session.

I will move on to Willie Coffey, because I know that he has a whole suite of questions he wants to go through.