Meeting of the Parliament 25 September 2025
I am pleased to open today’s debate on the Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill as my first contribution to parliamentary business in my new role as Minister for Higher and Further Education. I thank colleagues for their kind welcomes as I move into the brief. I pay tribute to my predecessor Graeme Dey for his extensive work in the post, including on the bill.
I also thank the Education, Children and Young People Committee for its stage 1 report, and all the individuals and organisations who contributed evidence. Their input has been invaluable.
In that constructive spirit, I emphasise that I am highly committed to undertaking my responsibilities as minister with a very constructive approach, across the Parliament and across the country. In recent days I have been pleased to meet a number of MSP colleagues and some key stakeholders to discuss the bill, including those representing Skills Development Scotland and, from the business community, representatives of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
It is evident to me, in picking up the task on the bill, that there is strong agreement that we need to make changes in the skills landscape, including structurally. That message came through loud and clear in the evidence that the committee heard, with 80 per cent of people who responded to the bill consultation choosing reform over business as usual. Indeed, the committee’s report makes it clear that the way that we currently run and deliver apprenticeships needs to change if we are to meet the needs of our dynamic economy, secure investment, achieve net zero, enable our learners to fulfil their potential and make the changes that are required as we commence the second quarter of the 21st century.