Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 4 June 2025.
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with UHI Perth in relation to its funding position. (S6O-04752)
The Scottish Funding Council has statutory responsibility for oversight of higher and further education institutions in Scotland. Perth college is assigned to the University of the Highlands and Islands as the regional strategic body. Therefore, the SFC has been working with UHI and Perth college to address some of the issues, such as the interim appointments of senior staff.
UHI Perth plays a vital role in the economy and community of Perthshire, yet it faces serious financial challenges, with a £2 million deficit and a principal who has just stepped down following the collapse of air service training—a long-established aviation training arm—leading to staff redundancies and a loss of student places. The college is now having to consider scrapping degree courses. That is a crisis and it has been made worse by the top slicing of the college budget to fund the executive office functions of UHI in Inverness. What is the Scottish Government doing to help the college before it sees more redundancies and course closures?
On top slicing, as Murdo Fraser refers to it, he might or might not be aware of an extensive piece of work that has been conducted by UHI in conjunction with its constituent parts to look at a future long-term and sustainable model. I would like to think that Murdo Fraser is as committed as I am to UHI as a concept and to its long-term future.
I recognise the issues that he describes, including the financial challenges at Perth college. The SFC and UHI have been working extensively and closely with the institution over a sustained period of time. I am happy to ask both institutions to engage with Murdo Fraser, if they have not done so already, to give him a fuller understanding of what that work has covered. I recognise that there have been difficult and challenging times for staff and students at the institution, but I point to the fact that UHI now has in place an interim acting principal who is highly respected and experienced, as well as a highly-regarded interim finance director. I am optimistic that things will progress from here.
Universities and colleges such as UHI Perth are facing increasing external pressure as a result of hostile United Kingdom Government policies, namely on immigration and the rise in employer national insurance contributions. The sector has been vocal about its concerns, so can the minister speak to the potential impact that Labour’s immigration crackdown could have on our higher education sector?
There is no doubt that the proposals that have been made in the past couple of weeks are causing considerable consternation in our higher and further education sectors. That comes on top of the employer national insurance contribution bombshell that was dropped on them. That is why the Scottish Government is seeking changes to graduate visa routes so that we can have a bespoke arrangement for Scotland that meets our needs.
Question 2 was not lodged.