Meeting of the Parliament 08 May 2024
I thank the member for that intervention and note that he voted for the budget that has delivered savage cuts to colleges across Scotland, so I will take no lessons or suggestions from him on that.
I ask the minister today whether he is prepared for this to happen on his watch, or whether he is willing to step up. On funding, can he set out a timeline on the development and delivery of a new funding model for colleges, and will he deliver an emergency funding package to help voluntary redundancy schemes in the meantime? On buildings, will he reintroduce a buildings conditions survey to inform investment plans and to help colleges to deal with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete? On delivery, will he support colleges and principals to test ways of meeting their needs for the future? Will he provide direction on pay and say whether he accepts calls for pay to be in line with public sector pay and accepts that colleges need help to deliver that? Finally, on industrial relations, will he fix the flawed national machinery that is meant to govern it? Will he ensure that everyone involved gets facility and support time to engage properly? Will he get around the table with colleges and trade unions before the summer recess to facilitate a solution that will end the industrial dispute?
Those are questions that people in the sector need answers to. Yesterday, someone in the chamber said that they would not envy the position of the minister.