I welcome the Minister to his new position.

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported jobs and cuts crisis in further and higher education. (S6O-05051)

I thank Richard Leonard for the warm welcome and express to him that the Scottish Government values and works to support all those who work in further and higher education in our country. I have valued the opportunities to express that since coming into post less than a month ago.

Our most recent budget allowed the Scottish Funding Council to increase revenue funding to colleges by 2.6 per cent and funding to universities by 3.3 per cent. However, we recognise the pressures that both sectors face, which have been set out clearly by Audit Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council. My ministerial colleagues and I will continue to work collaboratively on those challenges with both sectors and with the Parliament.

The Alloa campus of Forth Valley College remains under threat. The principal told me this week that

“Without Intervention the college is forecast to run out of cash by December 2026 and would become insolvent”.

In a written answer last week, the Minister told me that the closure of the Alloa campus was “ultimately ... an operational matter” for the college. If it is not the job of the Minister for Higher and Further Education to defend access to further education in one of our most deprived communities, I do not know what his job is, so will he give an assurance to Parliament and to the people of Clackmannanshire, this afternoon, that the Alloa campus will not be downgraded and will not be closed?

I thank Richard Leonard for his engagement on the matter. In relation to the Alloa campus, I have valued questions from members across the chamber, including from Keith Brown last week, who have advocated on behalf of the campus.

We recognise that, as has been set out, including in the Audit Scotland report this week, colleges are anchor bodies in communities. The Alloa campus plays an important role in helping young people and others in Clackmannanshire to fulfil their potential, build their skills and contribute fully.

The Scottish Government is engaged on the issue, as members would expect. Ministers are regularly being updated on the matter and, crucially, the Scottish Funding Council is engaged with Forth Valley College on the Alloa campus. We will continue to update the Parliament as appropriate, and we will continue our proactive engagement with the Scottish Funding Council.

The Audit Scotland report is not only a wake-up call for ministers; it should act as an alarm bell for them. Scotland’s colleges face a dire financial future under this Government. After a decade of dire public warnings from colleges and others about their future, what future funding models and new funding models will the Scottish Government bring forward to save our colleges?

Following the Audit Scotland report last week, and prior to that with regard to the Scottish Funding Council reports, we have collectively discussed in the Parliament, and at length, the importance of colleges as anchor institutions, which I mentioned earlier, and the roles that they play in enhancing skills, creating a fairer society and providing locally accessible learning facilities.

As well as appreciating my engagement with the Parliament so far, I welcome the positive engagement that I have had with Colleges Scotland, as the body that represents colleges. I had a really good visit to Kelvin College in Glasgow earlier this week. We need to have engagement with the college sector on sustainable funding, and we look forward to having that further engagement in the weeks and months ahead. I look forward to my next meeting with Colleges Scotland and discussing how we can collectively bring everyone with an interest round the table to ensure that we support our colleges and provide sustainable funding into the future.

Thank you, Minister. We are going to need a little more brevity in responses.