Meeting of the Parliament 20 January 2026
I am grateful to the Presiding Officer, all the Parliament staff and all MSP colleagues for their engagement with this bill and I am pleased to open this afternoon’s debate on the stage 3 amendments with an amendment that I hope a lot of members in this chamber will welcome and be interested in. The amendment gives effect to the commitment that I gave at stage 2 to consider further what, if anything, the Government could introduce in response to Pam Duncan-Glancy’s amendments 38 and 39 at stage 2.
My amendment 10 will require the Scottish ministers to create and maintain a national funding strategy for tertiary education, skills and apprenticeships in Scotland. The strategy will establish a foundation for our tertiary education and skills system to ensure that funding decisions are based on an even more robust understanding of the skills needs in Scotland, not only at the national level but across Scotland’s diverse local and regional contexts, which I know a number of members are—quite rightly—interested in, as is the Government.
Under amendment 10, the national funding strategy will have to explain Scotland’s skills needs and set out the Scottish ministers’ priorities for funding for further and higher education, national training programmes, apprenticeships and work-based learning. Additionally, the strategy will set out the outcomes that the Scottish ministers intend to achieve through that investment. For clarity, for universities, it will not direct funding towards provision specifically, as universities are autonomous bodies. I believe that amendment 10 will, overall, create a coherent strategic direction for Scotland that is better aligned with the skills needs that we have.
The Scottish ministers will be required to publish and update the strategy and, of course, lay it before Parliament. Publishing ministerial priorities and intended outcomes aids transparency and ensures that Parliament, stakeholders and the public can—rightly—scrutinise the Government’s policy direction on skills and the progress that it achieves. The requirement to report regularly will reinforce that.
Crucially, the preparation and revision of the strategy will be informed by meaningful consultation with a wide range of relevant stakeholders, including employers, trade unions and the bodies delivering education and skills training. The amendment does not set out an exhaustive list—for example, it is important, and it is my intention, that organisations and groups representing students and apprentices, and those with disabilities, will be included among those consulted, so that their important and specific needs are provided for in any funding strategy.
By ensuring that the strategy is rooted in evidence and shaped through collaboration and engagement, with clearly specified outcomes, amendment 10 strengthens the Government’s approach—and, therefore, the nation’s approach—to skills planning and to the funding of the tertiary education and skills system.
An important outcome, which we want to track and report on, is improved access to education and training opportunities for people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups. I know that that is of particular interest to my colleague Jeremy Balfour.