There are five questions to be put as a result of today's business. The first question is, that motion S3M-4940, in the name of Duncan McNeil, on the Local Government and Communities Committee's report, "Equal Pay in Local Government", be agreed to.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament notes the conclusions and recommendations contained in the Local Government and Communities Committee's 12th Report 2009 (Session 3): Equal Pay in Local Government (SP Paper 292).
The second question is, that amendment S3M-4956.2, in the name of Claire Baker, which seeks to amend motion S3M-4956, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on the role of colleges in the economic recovery, be agreed to.
Amendment agreed to.
The third question is, that amendment S3M-4956.1, in the name of Murdo Fraser, which also seeks to amend motion S3M-4956, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on the role of colleges in the economic recovery, be agreed to.
Amendment agreed to.
The fourth question is, that amendment S3M-4956.3, in the name of Margaret Smith, which also seeks to amend motion S3M-4956, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on the role of colleges in the economic recovery, be agreed to.
Amendment agreed to.
The fifth question is, that motion S3M-4956, as amended, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on the role of colleges in the economic recovery, be agreed to.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament recognises that Scotland's colleges are central to the Scottish Government's plans for tackling the recession and preparing for economic recovery; agrees that through the provision of flexible, locally relevant skills and training they are helping individuals and employers build for recovery; welcomes the fact that, as a result and working in partnership with other agencies, colleges are helping the communities that they serve to adapt to changed economic circumstances; notes the particular support that colleges provide to young people, and notes the continued financial support that the sector receives from the Scottish Government; notes the contribution that colleges are making in further developing links with industry that can help deliver the 7,800 apprenticeships promised in the 2009-10 budget; recognises the concerns that exist regarding the ability of colleges to fully accommodate the increase in applicants, including the 2009 Christmas school leavers, and to cope with pressures on childcare and hardship funds, and calls on the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning to report to the Parliament on how she intends to address these concerns; urges the Scottish Government to encourage the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, in allocating funds to the sector, to recognise the particular needs of colleges in rural areas and calls on the Scottish Government to review the current system of discretionary childcare funding, to work closely with the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council to develop articulation routes between further and higher education, helping to address problems that students face during transition and enhancing and developing links between the sectors, and, in recognising the valuable role of Scotland's colleges in skills development, to bring the revised skills strategy before the Parliament to allow detailed debate of its recommendations."
Previous
Point of Order