Official Report 1294KB pdf
Universities and Colleges (Financial Situations)
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report from the Scottish Funding Council stating that universities and colleges are in unsustainable financial situations, with some at risk of insolvency in the current financial year. (S6T-02699)
The Scottish Funding Council publishes an analysis of financial stability of Scotland’s colleges and universities every year. The recent report that the member mentions is significant and is being considered as such by me and other ministers, as Parliament and the public would expect.
In that context, I emphasise that Scottish ministers recognise the vital role that universities and colleges play in the economy and wider society. However, despite the significant financial contribution from the Scottish Government in the previous budget, Scotland’s universities and colleges are facing a broad range of pressures, several of which have been caused by United Kingdom Government decisions. Those include its approach to immigration and changes to national insurance contributions, which have created an estimated cost of around £50 million per year. UK ministers have not provided support for those impacts.
Much of the report focuses on further education colleges, which have historically been underfunded and more vulnerable because of their reliance on Scottish Funding Council grants. Unless the deficits are addressed, it is projected that there will be 667 full-time equivalent job losses. Will the Scottish Government respond to those pressures with greater investment in the further education sector?
I thank the member for raising the contribution of further education colleges not just to the people who are involved in them and enrolled as students but to the national economy and the local economies where they operate.
The member will appreciate that the budget was set by the Parliament for this financial year and that the Funding Council and the Government—which is engaging with the Funding Council—are giving on-going consideration to the serious matters that are raised in the report. I would be happy to have further dialogue with the member on these matters.
The report highlighted that 11 universities have underlying operating deficits. The University of the West of Scotland, which is in my region, is expected to post an £8.4 million deficit, which could result in more than 75 academic job losses, while senior staff who earn more than £100,000 get pay increases of more than 30 per cent. Does the cabinet secretary agree with calls from trade unions for greater transparency in financial planning for universities?
The member raises a point about the excellent university in her region. I have already had some engagement with that institution since coming into post last week. Members will appreciate that, through the budget process, the Government has shown a long-term commitment to universities by investing more than £1 billion in the sector every year since the 2012-13 financial year. That includes £1.1 billion for teaching and research in the previous budget.
However, we appreciate the pressures on the sector and the nature, context and substance of the reports that have been published. I look forward to engaging more with the Parliament on those important reports and questions, including at committee tomorrow. If the member wants to follow up with any specifics with regard to her region, I would be happy to receive that correspondence.
I would also be happy to engage with the member on the constructive correspondence that we can have with the UK Government to get it to play more of a part by using its massive financial power to support these very important contributors to the economy and to change its position on national insurance contributions and immigration policy, which have, in fact, damaged our higher education institutions.
We have much interest in this topic, so concise questions and responses are appreciated.
As the minister has indicated, the effect of the jobs tax has been to put £600,000 on to the wage bill of Forth Valley College. As the Alloa campus of Forth Valley College is vital in ensuring that young people and adult learners in Clackmannanshire can access further and higher education close to home, what action is the Government taking to protect the future of that campus in the face of the funding challenges?
I am aware of Keith Brown’s proactive approach to this serious matter in his constituency. As he set out, the campus in Alloa plays a vital role in providing access to services for people in the community, and I and the Government are keen that everything possible is done to keep the campus open.
The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council have identified a route by which some funding could be used this financial year to support urgent feasibility studies to inform the SFC’s forthcoming college infrastructure investment plan. The SFC is also working closely with the college sector to address infrastructure issues, including in the member’s constituency, and it continues to have close engagement with Forth Valley College on those matters.
I am grateful to the member for the engagement that he has shown so far, and I look forward to having further engagement with him on this matter of understandable concern in his constituency.
Far be it from me to come to the rescue of a United Kingdom Labour Government, but the issues that are identified in Keith Brown’s question and that the minister is talking about predate a Labour Government. The amount of money that has gone towards student funding in universities has been dramatically cut in real terms over the past decade. That is an economic fact. That has meant that universities are now very dependent on international students as a source of income, and that is precarious—I would admit that.
The minister has only two choices. He can either increase the amount of public money that supports Scottish undergraduates and universities or he can review the funding model for Scottish undergraduates at Scottish universities. Which course of action will he take?
The member talks about the pressure on the system. The austerity that the whole of the UK has had to live with since 2010 has not helped anyone in that regard, including our higher education system.
I appreciate the member’s points. However, he also seems to be making a point about—if I have heard this incorrectly, I am happy to be corrected—his belief that tuition fees should be reintroduced in Scotland. I do not share that approach, and neither does the Scottish Government.
Our approach of free tuition encourages individuals—young and older—to go into further and higher education to fulfil their potential without the consideration of the burden of debt. [Interruption.]
Let us hear one another.
The question that I put to the member is this: if charging fees was a panacea for the situation, why are several higher education institutions in England, which have high tuition fees of more than £9,000 a year, struggling financially?
You are in control. You have a choice. What are you going to do?
Mr Kerr.
The question is how we work together with the sector to take a constructive way forward and look at alternative funding models. The Scottish Government continues to engage with Universities Scotland in that collaborative approach, along with other parties, so that we can ensure the sector’s long-term financial sustainability.
I am afraid that the minister, quite predictably, points the finger at someone else. Given the £5.2 billion extra that the Scottish Government got from the UK Labour Government, colleges will rightly ask, how come there has been a 17 per cent real-terms cut to funding since 2021, how come staff numbers are down by 27 per cent since 2007 and how come student participation and completion rates are falling? Where has that money gone?
The Scottish Government has supported over 163,000 students through the sector. Record numbers of individuals come from care-experienced backgrounds or are receiving support through the disabled students allowance. We have also provided support for individuals who come from more deprived backgrounds. Widening access has been a great success.
It is important to reflect on the fact that, under this Government, thousands of people go through our further and higher education institutions very successfully every year. The member makes a point about funding for the college sector. As I stated in previous answers, this Government has dedicated billions of pounds annually to supporting the sector and does so in an environment in which it operates within a restricted financial envelope.
As I have stated since taking up the post, I am keen to work constructively with members. If, as we go into the Scottish budget, the Labour Party wants to come to me and colleagues with suggestions for that budget, we would be happy to receive them. The big question—
Thank you, minister.
However, the big question for all parties that we have to think about is where the money would come from in order to go somewhere else, and that is a factual consideration.
I am disappointed with the minister’s approach this afternoon. It seems to be a step backwards, because his predecessor had accepted that the funding model for higher education was broken and had opened the door to cross-party discussions with the universities. Is Ben Macpherson saying that that has now been abandoned? [Interruption.]
I seem to have a drummer to my left. [Laughter.]
I am not saying that that approach has been abandoned. I embrace it fully, and I want to bring the same approach to the process. I did not mean in any way to disrespect another member or to say, implicitly or directly, that I am closed to anything—apart from bringing in tuition fees, which the Scottish Government has had and continues to have a strong position on. That is our policy. I know that Willie Rennie is engaged in constructive discussions on alternative funding models, along with Universities Scotland. I look forward to further conversations with him, and I hope that this answer reassures him in that regard.
Extreme Wildfire Warning
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has issued an extreme wildfire warning for the first time in September since 2020. (S6T-02690)
Climate change is contributing to warmer and drier conditions, which increase the likelihood and the intensity of wildfires. Shifts in weather patterns, such as those that led to last week’s wildfire danger warning and this week’s yellow warning for rain, reinforce the climate challenges that we currently face.
Although there have been no significant wildfires during the latest wildfire warning period, we have seen significant fires this year. I commend the SFRS and its partners in the rural and land management sectors, which ably assisted in dealing with those fires.
In October, the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity and I will host a wildfire summit to discuss with our partners how we can improve our wildfire preparedness, prevention and response in the future. We continue to work with the SFRS to support full implementation of its wildfire strategy, which will continued to be rolled out this year, with new equipment, vehicles and personal protection equipment, to be backed by £1.6 million of funding over three years.
Scotland has witnessed more than 1,500 wildfires in the past decade, but the recent fires at Carrbridge and Dava were the worst and the biggest ever recorded. It is clear that a new approach is needed before someone, or even an entire community, is seriously affected.
What consideration is the Scottish Government giving to establishing a dedicated wildfire response unit, to ensure that communities in my area of the Highlands and Islands, and across Scotland, are protected?
I note the concerns that the member has raised, which all ministers in the Government share. We would like to extend our sympathies to all those who were affected by the wildfires that occurred in late June and early July. I am grateful to the SFRS, gamekeepers, land managers, volunteers, partners, landowners, extended local communities, the wider land management sector and, indeed, everyone who played a major role in getting this spring and summer’s wildfires under control.
As I said in my opening answer, in October we will hold a summit at which we will work with everybody to find the best way of moving forward.
Given the rise in wildfires this session, rural organisations have expressed concerns that the new muirburn licensing arrangements will make fuel management even harder. That, of course, follows the bungle in May 2023 over expensive all-terrain vehicles that were not, in fact, fit for purpose.
Will the Scottish Government review the muirburn changes, as some gamekeepers are asking it to do? Will it also engage with landowners and gamekeepers, to ensure that the people of Scotland are protected by equipment that actually works?
Muirburn is just one way of addressing the increasing wildfire risks in Scotland and should not be seen as a silver bullet. I appreciate that not everybody agrees with the science on muirburn on peatlands, but that was thoroughly consulted on and debated during the lead-up to and passage of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.
The muirburn licensing scheme that the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity is introducing has not been brought into effect yet. We are working with practitioners to ensure that it will be a workable scheme, especially in relation to wildfire prevention.
With regard to the equipment for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, I have regular meetings with the SFRS and it has not brought that up as an issue. If the member has any specific concerns, I am happy for him to write to me and I will look into them for him.
The minister will know that fewer than 10 per cent of fire stations in the Highlands and Islands have full teams of firefighters. They also lack equipment for wildfire management, such as all-terrain vehicles and leaf blowers, and they do not have decontamination facilities. When will the fire service in rural Scotland be staffed and equipped to deal with wildfire and to protect our rural communities?
Because of the increase in wildfires this year and the concerns that have been raised, the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity and I are holding the summit in October so that we can explore how rural areas can be better prepared for wildfires. That is also why it is important that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is undertaking a service delivery review, the full public consultation for which just closed a couple of weeks ago. That is considering how we can prepare for a safer Scotland as we move into the future.
It is clear that the climate emergency is changing our weather and that the dry summer this year brought about unprecedented wildfires. What support is the Scottish Government giving to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to cope with the changing needs of our communities?
We will continue to support the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to deliver the high standard of services that are required to keep Scotland safe. That includes the implementation of its wildfire strategy and an overall budget increase of £18.8 million for this year.
The emergencies that the SFRS has responded to have changed significantly over the years. For example, dwelling fires have reduced by more than 20 per cent since 2013. Although the number of house fires has reduced, other incidents, such as flooding and wildfires, which is what we are talking about, have increased. That is why it is right that the fire service is carefully considering how to adapt to the changing risks to remain effective and efficient, with firefighters in the right place at the right time.
MyCare (Accessibility)
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason patients across Scotland will reportedly not be able to fully access the new MyCare NHS app until 2030. (S6T-02701)
I refer Alex Cole-Hamilton to the summary of the roll-out plan, which was published on Friday and of which Parliament was notified. That confirms the intention to make the MyCare app available across the population of Scotland throughout 2026, starting in April.
It is right and normal practice for digital technology roll-out to include iterative improvements beyond the initial launch, with new and improved services being added regularly, and that is what we aim to do. That approach also allows us to continue to be informed by testing and user feedback. That will ensure that the service is developed to be robust, secure and aligned to what people need, and it will allow for this transformational innovation to progress effectively.
Amanda Clark and her family moved to Scotland from England three years ago. The app that was available to her south of the border made her life as a parent and carer much easier. It gave instant access to her medical history and allowed her to easily renew prescriptions for herself and her disabled son. When she moved to Scotland, she expected that her details would automatically migrate to the Scottish version of the app—except that there was not one. The transfer of paper records led to vital information being missed on allergies, Covid vaccines and complex medical conditions. Why, in 2025, are patients in Scotland still unable to benefit from a national health service app that provides the same joined-up care that families in England have been able to rely on since before the pandemic?
I sympathise with the situation that Alex Cole-Hamilton has narrated about Ms Clark and her family. That is exactly the aspiration that I have for MyCare, which will go further than what has been available to residents in England—
Oh, that is nonsense.
—by providing an integrated health and social care application. [Interruption.]
There are some voices that I am hearing rather more clearly than I would expect, particularly when such voices have not been called to speak.
It is a statement of fact that this is an integrated health and social care app, the likes of which is not available elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Yes, we have learning to build on from the health service app that is available in England. We will do that, and that has formed the basis of the roll-out plan that was published and that Parliament was notified of on Friday.
That felt like something of a “jam tomorrow” response from the cabinet secretary. Incidentally, tomorrow does not fall until very soon after the next Scottish election, which feels convenient.
The app will be incredibly limited compared with what has been available for years in England, so that will be cold comfort to Scottish patients. Some 34 million people use the app in England. They have come to rely on the functionality that Amanda expected when she came here, but her move to Scotland felt like a step back in time.
Patients in Scotland are stuck in a phone queue for the 8 am scramble for general practitioner appointments. British Medical Association Scotland has called it a disgrace that GPs still have to sign paper prescriptions by hand, given the pressures on their time. Software platforms still do not speak to each other across our health service. Everything is harder for patients and staff when GPs have to navigate outdated tech.
Does the cabinet secretary recognise that, as long as our Scottish NHS relies on technology from the last century, we are holding clinicians and patients back and deepening the crisis in our health service?
To answer Mr Cole-Hamilton’s point about the app happening only after the election, that is not the case. The roll-out will happen from April, which, patently, falls before the election.
In response to his latter point, the iterative improvements that will come thereafter will ensure that we give people—service users of the health and social care system and those who work within it—better access to digital capability and innovation. I want that iterative process to move as quickly as possible. That is what we will invest in and what we will deliver.
The introduction of the NHS MyCare app will undoubtedly revolutionise Scotland’s healthcare system. I welcome last week’s news that the app will be rolled out across Scotland from 1 April. My Kirkcaldy constituents will also welcome that. Opposition members can never bring themselves to welcome a good news story in Scotland. Will the cabinet secretary make it clear how Scotland’s MyCare app will be more wide ranging than any other NHS app in the UK?
David Torrance is right. The app will be transformational for how people across Scotland manage their health and social care services. When the roll-out is complete, it will be the most wide-ranging app that is offered in the UK, because we have been clear from the outset that its development must include social work and social care, so it will go beyond being just an NHS app. That will put us in a strong position to develop services that meet the population’s needs, regardless of whether they are being supported by the health system or the social care system.
I am surprised at how long it is taking to develop and deploy such tech. Will the cabinet secretary confirm that the Scottish Government will deliver a single shared electronic patient record and software interoperability, alongside the roll-out of a fully functional MyCare app, across the NHS by 2030?
I recognise Brian Whittle’s interest in that. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with him on the app’s roll-out and will continue to do so after April. The full business case, which is in development, will quantify the benefits as well as the expected return on investment. That will inform the roll-out plan, as per our commitment in the NHS Scotland operational improvement plan. It will include areas such as digital patient records, digital prescribing and other elements that Mr Whittle is very interested in—as am I, because I can see that there will be human resource and financial resource savings, as well as outcome improvements, for people who use the app.
That concludes topical question time. My apologies to those members whom I was unable to call. Before we move to the next item, I will allow a moment or two for members on the front benches to organise themselves.
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