Chamber and committees

As this is my first opportunity to speak in the chamber since the election, I put on record how proud and grateful I was to represent Edinburgh Northern and Leith for 10 years and how grateful I am to have been re-elected to represent Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith, which has a strong history of standing up for working people and social justice, which are relevant to the debate.

I also pay tribute to Maggie Chapman, not just for bringing this important issue to the chamber today but for all that she has done over many years to champion the issues in the sector and for being a fair and proactive parliamentarian in this space. I look forward to working with her and colleagues on these really important issues.

There have been some meaningful contributions from across the chamber. I will not be able to reply to all the points that have been made, but I will try to. I say to colleagues that what they have said in today’s debate has been heard and that not only is my door open but my mind is open to working with them on the issues that we face now, and on other issues—the challenges that are the subject of today’s debate will be some of the most pertinent and difficult that, collectively, we will need to wrestle with in this parliamentary session.

As others have rightly emphasised, this is an anxious and unsettling time for many across the university sector in all 19 of our institutions. I recognise that and I understand those concerns. Since being reappointed as minister with responsibility for tertiary education, I have welcomed the opportunity to meet again our national trade union bodies, Universities Scotland and principals, and to listen to their concerns, particularly the concerns of staff. I look forward to continuing that engagement during my tenure.

There is no question but that universities across the United Kingdom and, indeed, more widely, are experiencing financial challenges for a range of reasons and, as a consequence, are having to consider the costs that are before them. In addition to the universities here in Scotland cited by members, cost reduction measures have also been announced at institutions including Ulster University, the University of South Wales, the University of Sussex and the University of Nottingham, in recent weeks, and, in recent days, the University of Sheffield.

Universities are responding to a range of factors, including Brexit, high energy costs, inflationary pressures, the UK Government’s increase in national insurance contributions and the UK Government’s hostile environment policies, which are affecting student numbers. Those policies include those set out in the immigration white paper and the major changes to the UK Government’s international visa compliance regime that have come into force this month, which are already causing difficulty and will confront us further as we go into the autumn.

Implementing the Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Act 2026 and addressing the other immediate issues before us are important measures, along with the framework, on which I look forward to engaging with colleagues.

I have sought to reassure members on the points that they raised and to understand the real challenges that universities face, many of which are also being experienced across the UK.

As I set out, we will continue to take action to ensure that our world-class universities deliver outstanding teaching, research and innovation and meet the needs of learners, the economy and society. I look forward to engaging with colleagues. I appreciate that I have not been able to address every point, but let us keep up the engagement. It is a collective challenge. I look forward to working across the chamber and with universities, staff and students on our shared ambition to ensure that our world-class university sector continues to thrive.

Meeting closed at 17:20.

No Scottish Government minister has been anything but concerned about the situation in Dundee in recent days and years. If colleagues show a little patience, I will get to those issues shortly in my remarks.

I have been determined since September that we do all that we can to get ahead of this challenge. Dundee is a bit of an outlier, but colleagues have been right to emphasise that there are challenges across the sector. Willie Rennie, Iris Duane, Meghan Gallacher, Heather Anderson and other members talked about the need to think ahead and ensure that we sustain our sector, invest in it and future proof it. That is exactly what the framework, which Willie Rennie was right to emphasise, is all about. It is a collective endeavour to ensure that we are considering what bold and strategic decisions and proactive steps we need to take to ensure that our world-class universities are successful and sustainable for coming decades. The review will report at the end of the year.

In 2027, as a Parliament, in the budget process that lies ahead, we will need to think collectively and come to decisions together about how we support this vital sector during a period in which there are complex student needs, rising costs, increasing global competition, shifting demographics, fast-paced changes in technology, and uncertain global markets and conditions. We need to consider all of that and ensure that we are not complacent. I am grateful for the insight and ideas that have been provided so far by student and staff representatives, as well as experts in the steering group. That is all good work that is ongoing in the future framework for the sustainability and success of Scotland’s universities. I reach across the chamber for collaboration in that work, as we had in the previous Parliament, and I look forward to engaging with colleagues on that.

As many members have mentioned, the Government is very clear that universities cannot meet the challenges that are in front of us right now unless decisions are made in consultation with staff and students. Although our 19 universities are, rightly, autonomous and responsible for their own operational decisions, the Scottish Government fully expects meaningful engagement as cost-reduction measures are considered and progressed.

Universities must make every effort to protect jobs and consider compulsory redundancies only as a last resort, after all other cost-reduction measures have been fully explored. In my recent discussions with trade unions, I heard examples in which agreements were reached with university employers to end disputes through positive engagement. We want more of that, and I expect other universities to continue to work with their recognised trade unions in the same spirit.

Although employment law is reserved, we as a Government will continue to do what we can to ensure that workers are treated fairly and that their voices are heard. Fair work principles should be at the forefront of universities’ decision making, and the Scottish Funding Council will continue to monitor the implementation of fair work principles as part of its outcome framework and assurance model, taking action to support compliance where necessary. Because of the legislation that we passed in the early part of the year, from April 2027, universities will be expected to adopt all fair work criteria, and the SFC will look to include them as a condition of grant—an announcement that trade unions and I have spoken about in recent weeks. They welcome that, and we will continue to work together on it.

I thank Maggie Chapman for those additional points, on top of what she said in her opening remarks. I am aware that she has written directly to the Government on many of the points that she has raised. I advise her that there will be a written response from the Government to her letter—that is the most appropriate way in which to respond in detail to the substance of those important issues.

As I was saying, the pressures are wide and complex. Those factors have been set out in our parliamentary committees, as members such as George Adam and Willie Rennie have referenced, and in the House of Commons Education Committee’s recent report on the financial crisis faced by English higher education providers. In that context, we in the Scottish Government know that we need to take action to support our universities and help to ensure that they are financially sustainable in the medium and long term.

Ministers have listened closely to the sector in the development of this year’s budget, which is why we are investing £1.4 billion in the sector. That is a combined increase of more than £55 million in resource and capital funding via the Scottish Funding Council, which is equivalent to a 5 per cent uplift on last year’s budget.

Every university has been allocated a combined increase in teaching, research and innovation grant funding of at least 3.2 per cent for this academic year. Of course, we saw an increase of 10 per cent in the budget for our college sector as well.

That is not my understanding. Since my appointment in September, I have engaged extensively with Forth Valley College and I have a good working relationship with both the principal and the chair. We are working together proactively to seek solutions around the future of Alloa campus and more widely. Indeed, last week, I attended the college sector conference that Colleges Scotland organised, and we had a great discussion in the room about how we are working together. I appreciate that colleges, which are very important to me, are a pressing issue, but this is a debate on universities, so I will use my time to respond to the points being made on that issue.

The budget settlement demonstrates our strong commitment to free tuition and widening access for those from the most deprived backgrounds. We have seen positive improvement there. Indeed, figures released today show the stark difference between the loans debt accrued by Scottish students and that of students in the rest of the UK. That investment makes a difference for the majority of young people who are studying.

We have also committed strongly, both socially and economically, to the contribution of our universities in teaching and research, not just in technical skills but in the necessity for critical thinking. As a philosophy graduate, I very much appreciate the importance of preserving investment in our humanities as well as skilling for our economic needs in order to meet our full potential. Universities are engines for unlocking collective and individual potential and opportunities, and they should not be underestimated in that regard. This gets to something that is important to consider—

Do I get the time back in this debate as well?

I will take the intervention.

Ministers, including me, and the SFC regularly engage on that matter. I also encourage the member to seek their own engagement with the SFC. I give a commitment to the Parliament and to the member in particular, as they have raised the question, to continue dialogue with the SFC about ensuring that we see proper implementation of the conditions, whether under the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Act 2016 or the Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Act 2026.

I am conscious that I need to touch on the situation at Dundee before we conclude, so I ask the member to allow me to continue.

Like many others, I was concerned about the University of Dundee’s announcement of further job cuts, which undoubtedly and understandably are deeply upsetting to staff, whose voices, along with those of campus unions, must be central to any decisions about the future of the institution. I reiterated that to the principal in writing and to the SFC in a meeting last week.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic met the principal of the University of Dundee on 16 June to request that the university’s leadership pause the consultation process on staff reductions to give ministers reasonable time to consider the SFC’s evidence regarding compliance with conditions of funding. Evidently—and disappointingly—the university did not agree to that and pressed ahead with Tuesday’s announcement.

Although the Scottish Government absolutely recognises the autonomy of the university, ministers must also be assured that the university has complied with the SFC’s conditions of funding. The education secretary, other ministers and I have engaged with the SFC in recent days, and we will consider the detail of the SFC’s evidence. I also refer to what the First Minister said in the chamber on Tuesday at back-bench members’ First Minister’s question time. The SFC will continue to monitor the university’s compliance with its conditions of funding through to July 2027. That includes meaningful engagement with staff and students and adherence to the fair work principles.

I refer to my first answer, but I recognise the importance of the Elmwood campus and that consideration of its future is relevant to skills provision, which was raised by the member, and the local community. If the member wants to write to me with feedback from their engagement with local farmers, that would be interesting and helpful to see.

I also emphasise that SRUC has advised that animal care provision will remain on offer at its other campuses, with horticulture and gamekeeping provision remaining on offer at Elmwood. It is important that we recognise that. However, I would appreciate further engagement; indeed, I had the pleasure of meeting campaigners about Elmwood’s future in the spring, and they can engage with me further.

I welcome Donald MacKinnon to the chamber. I look forward to working constructively with him and I pay tribute to his predecessor, Alasdair Allan.

In answer to his important question, the Barra and Vatersay community campus project was included in our programme for government, and the Scottish Government remains firmly committed to its delivery, working in close partnership with the local council and NHS Western Isles. We have held a number of constructive meetings with the council and the national health service to progress that important project. Following our meeting in March, partners are now actively developing a business case. We look forward to the project continuing to move forward as quickly as practicable.