Chamber and committees

There are a number of issues in that question. I can confirm to the Parliament that more than 25,000 people started a modern apprenticeship in Scotland in 2024-25 and that 39,000 individuals were in training at the end of quarter 4 of 2024-25.

Regarding college funding, allocations from the Scottish Funding Council provide a 2.6 per cent sector increase in teaching funding for 2025-26 compared with the previous year, and no college had a reduction in teaching funding in 2025-26 compared with the previous year. In addition, the Government is supporting the funding of Fife College’s new Dunfermline campus, which will be available to local people. [Interruption.]

Let me make a final point to Roz McCall, because I hear that I am being heckled by her and others. It is laughable for the Conservatives to come here and ask for more money for something if they will not vote for the Government’s budget. It is hypocrisy in action. We get it every year from the Conservatives, and I will call it out every time the Conservatives ask for more money in this Parliament.

Mr Findlay has raised the tragic case of Claire Inglis with me before, and I had the pleasure—thanks to the assistance of Mr Findlay’s staff—of being able to meet Mr and Mrs Inglis on their previous visit to the Parliament. I extend my sympathy to Mr and Mrs Inglis for the tragedy that they have experienced.

I agree with Mr Findlay that no family should have to suffer as Mr and Mrs Inglis have suffered. The issues in connection with the handling of the case surrounding the perpetrator of the murder of Claire Inglis are being explored by the Crown, and the Lord Advocate has taken independent decisions on the matter.

We recognise that the McCloud judgment affects the administration of pensions across the United Kingdom and that timelines have been extended to reflect the challenges of delivery. In Scotland, there are approximately 215,000 members of affected schemes that are administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency. We should note that the vast majority of those scheme members have not yet retired and will make their remedy choice on retirement. Of the 65,000 retired members who are affected, many will already be getting the best-value pension. For those who have a choice that enables a higher pension, they will receive any arrears, including interest, to be paid for by the United Kingdom Government. The Scottish Public Pensions Agency is working to ensure that all those who are awaiting their remedy receive it, with the bulk of statements being delivered by the end of 2026.

Patrick Harvie correctly identifies the impact of climate change as an exacerbation of the challenges that the global south already faces. It was evident to me that for people who are already having to deal with acute and desperate levels of poverty, climate change adds another level of threat. I recognise that connection, and that is also why the Scottish Government’s programmes are focused in the way that they are. I will consider the point that the member has raised about the treaty.

Pam Gosal raised an issue that was covered in my statement, which is the impact of gender-based violence against women and girls. Whether such violence takes place in Malawi, Zambia or Scotland, it is completely and utterly reprehensible and unacceptable. I represent a Government that takes that view, which underpins the approach that it takes to public policy in Scotland.

Many of those projects are in fields such as health, education, climate action and tackling poverty. There are mutual lessons to be learned about issues around disease management and vaccination development, which are important public health improvements and benefits that will be shared by all.

I saw at first hand the investment that has been made in the Blantyre-Blantyre clinical research project, which originated as a partnership between the University of Glasgow and the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Blantyre, Malawi. The University of Zambia in Lusaka has been added to the project—I saw the new laboratory there—which enables this to be a three-country research programme that looks at non-communicable diseases as well as vaccine efficacy, particularly in relation to vaccination for cholera and Covid.

That work enables us and those universities in Africa to participate as equals in a multinational network of exchange on research issues, making it possible to undertake a more sophisticated research process. That is a combination that leads to collective enhancement of human health.

I pay tribute to the leadership of the University of Glasgow, which has given tremendous commitment to the venture over a number of years. It is enhancing human health, and we should be very proud of the exchanges that have taken place. Of course, it reinforces the connection that Clare Haughey referred to, between Blantyre, the birthplace of David Livingstone, and the projects that are taken forward, which are deeply appreciated by the people of Malawi.

First, I make it clear, as I have made clear in all of my public communication about these issues, that I warmly welcome the foundations of the Scottish Government’s international development programme, which took place under the leadership of my predecessor Jack McConnell. That initiative attracted cross-party support 20 years ago. I am not so sure that such cross-party support exists today, but I certainly assure Mr Bibby of the support of the Scottish Government and the Scottish National Party in that endeavour. I think that the need for our intervention today is even greater than it was in 2005.

In relation to the maximisation of impact and how we will work with the FCDO, I had every support from the high commission in Lusaka and the high commission in Lilongwe, in Malawi, for the visits that I undertook. I put on record my appreciation for the support of the FCDO in that respect.

In relation to Scottish charities, we work with a range of different charitable organisations. Our programmes are refreshed from year to year as we establish how we can maximise their impact. Some Scottish charities are supported in some years and others are supported in other years.

The focus of all our programmes is on making an impact at grass-roots level. That thinking has been brought into our international development programmes, and it serves us well as a means of understanding how the investments that we make can change lives.

As I set out in my statement, the issues that affect Scotland and the issues that affect the global south are interconnected. We have to ensure that the actions that we take as a good global citizen assist in resolving some of the extraordinarily acute challenges that people in the global south face. That underpins our policy approach.

I go back to the discussions that took place 20 years ago in this Parliament. At the time, the United Kingdom Government made it clear to the Scottish Government that it welcomed the Scottish Government’s participation in international development activity because it recognised the scale of the challenge that was involved. This Parliament embraced that, which I welcome, and that is the foundation of the answer to Mr McMillan’s question.

I could not agree with Mr McArthur more. I have had the privilege of interacting with the Scotland Malawi Partnership and the Malawi Scotland Partnership, which are two excellent organisations that foster and nurture the community-to-community relationships that Mr McArthur has highlighted.

I recently attended an event in Dunblane with a Boys Brigade company that regularly interacts with a school in Malawi. This year, the young men from that organisation raised more than £100,000 to support developments in Malawi. Next week, they are coming to Bute house to describe to me their experience over the summer, when they travelled to Malawi to undertake the exact work that Mr McArthur has referred to. Yes, the Government plays a part, but the Scotland-Malawi partnerships help to encourage the partnership that Mr McArthur has talked about, which is rooted in the deep relationships between our countries that go back more than 150 years. We should work very hard to nurture those relationships.