Chamber and committees

So, at the moment, it is work in progress.

Good morning. The submission refers to the existing governance arrangements that the SPCB has in place for office-holders, including the requirement to adhere to a memorandum as well as a suite of strategic engagement documents. Is compliance with the memorandum and those documents monitored as part of the annual evaluation process undertaken by the independent assessor?

Exhibit 3 shows college leaver destinations in 2019-20. It highlights that a growing number of college leavers went to university, that there was a 10 per cent reduction in college leavers going into work, and that, as you have mentioned, 15.6 per cent of college leavers were unemployed or unavailable for work—that is a 3 per cent increase from 2018-19. What is your assessment of the value for money that is being delivered by Scotland’s colleges, in light of leaver destinations?

Good morning. The briefing notes that the number of students successfully completing their course and achieving a qualification has fallen. According to surveys carried out by the Scottish Government and the National Union of Students Scotland, student poverty could be a contributing factor. You have also highlighted that that represents a risk not only for individual students but for public investment and value for money. Do we have enough information to enable us to rigorously assess the reasons for students not completing their courses?

Are we doing enough to support students who are thinking of withdrawing from courses?

Her Majesty the Queen has been an inspiration to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth for 70 years. No monarch in modern history has had such an impact on either their nation or the world. We owe her a debt for her leadership, her calm confidence in times of trouble and her unique ability to unite our nation and lift our spirits.

In the broadcast that she made on her 21st birthday, Her Majesty pledged:

“my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service”.

Rarely has such a promise been so well kept.

She had a sense of duty to which many of us can only aspire. Her Majesty pursued her duties with tireless dedication, diligently spending many hours reading the contents of the red boxes with which she was presented every day of her working life. She took an active approach to government, never letting anything slip by her, while always remaining politically neutral.

We cannot forget that that dedication to duty came at a personal cost, with months spent away from her children while she was on Commonwealth tours. That was one reason why she treasured her time at Balmoral so much: she could spend time with her family.

In the course of the Queen’s reign, the Commonwealth developed from being a group of only seven nations to having 56 member states, representing more than a third of the world’s population. Fifteen Prime Ministers, the first being Winston Churchill, served under her. All left Buckingham palace and Balmoral filled with admiration for her kindness, intelligence, wisdom and wit, as did countless presidents, ambassadors, princes and leaders from all faiths.

I had the pleasure of being present when Her Majesty opened this session of Parliament last year. Even at the age of 95, her charm and intellect were undiminished, despite the loss of her dearly beloved husband Philip. To the very end, she continued her relentless schedule of public engagements and constitutional duties, adapting to the times as she had always done.

In the darkest days of the pandemic, she provided leadership and was a beacon of hope to millions. She led us through war, and through the good times and the bad. She has been a constant in our lives and an inspiration to millions. We have shared jubilee milestones along the way—we saw her jump from a helicopter with 007 and have afternoon tea with a very special bear, Paddington, when, finally, we found out what Her Majesty kept in her handbag.

We were so very lucky to have her. Thank you, ma’am. May you rest in peace, now back forever with your beloved Philip. Long live the King.

I know that some of my colleagues have other questions about that. When did you become aware that there would not be a full builders refund guarantee?

So you did not have any meetings with CMAL.

Good morning, Mr Mackay. Was the decision to award the ferry contract to FMEL in any way linked to political calculations or dictated by a political timescale?

We heard from Mr McColl that he thought that there was a future for the yard even without the contract in question and that there was a rush to make the announcement even though the negotiations were still going on. CMAL felt that that hindered it in its negotiations, as it would have been harder for the Government to pull back from that announcement after having made such a high-profile announcement that the contract was going to the yard. I will move on.