Chamber and committees

Thank you. Part of the committee’s considerations of the next steps will be whether we will seek further evidence from organisations, including the Scottish Funding Council.

My final question very much ties in with the final conclusions of the report. You reminded us that the Scottish Government’s three missions are equality, opportunity and community. In paragraph 28, you concluded:

“A significant reduction in a college’s range of courses, student capacity, or its closure altogether could have an unequal impact on students from more deprived areas”.

Could you elaborate on that point a little bit for us?

Given the rate of increase of the number of colleges that are going into deficit, if that trend was to continue next year, every college would be in deficit, would it not?

We probably need the current position.

Okay. You cannot be held responsible for when the Scottish Funding Council publishes its report. We understand that.

I invite Willie Coffey to ask some questions. Sharon Dowey may drop in and out of this section as well.

It has not developed that picture as part of its scenario in its submissions to the Funding Council, for example.

Thank you. We are drawing towards the close of this session, but the deputy convener, Sharon Dowey, has a number of questions to put. Sharon—over to you.

Out of how many?

Thank you. I think that that would be useful and would help the committee in considering its next steps.

The Scottish Funding Council is obviously pivotal here. As I read the briefing, it is the Scottish Funding Council that carries out an assessment of the sector’s finances for each academic year. One of the conclusions that you reach in paragraph 10 of the briefing is that the operating surplus for 2021-22 is expected to be “considerably less” than that for the previous year. Will you elaborate on what “considerably less” means?

Good morning. I welcome everyone to the 26th meeting in 2023 of the Public Audit Committee. The first item on our agenda is for members of the committee to decide whether to take items 3, 4 and 5 in private. Do members agree to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Agenda item 2 is consideration of the Auditor General for Scotland’s briefing paper, “Scotland’s colleges 2023”. I am pleased to welcome our witnesses: the Auditor General, Stephen Boyle, is joined by—from Audit Scotland—Mark MacPherson, audit director; Tricia Meldrum, senior manager; and Douglas Black, audit manager. You are all very welcome.

Auditor General, feel free to field any of our questions to the most appropriate people on your team. Before we get to the questions, I invite you to make a short opening statement.