Chamber and committees

For reasons of transparency about our progress in that regard, that is an issue that we would wish to share with the committee and with Parliament.

Mr Rennick may wish to say something.

We met with the sector in late November, ahead of the budget, to hear from it, and that was a direct ask from it, and that has been publicised in the press.

That has come from the sector, and we have responded. It is not just the places, because additionality has been provided to reach that 3.5 per cent number.

I very much agree on the importance of Dundee university—I should say that as a Fife MSP. There is a joint campus in Kirkcaldy for nursing, so there is close working with the university. A number of my constituents study at the university and, as an Angus MSP, that will be exactly the same for Mr Dey.

I do not diminish the importance of the university, particularly its geographic importance. We have talked a lot about the international student population, but the university as an institution is also hugely important to those who live in Angus, Fife and the surrounding areas. We will do all that we can to facilitate support via the auspices of the SFC.

Mr Marra quoted some figures, but I do not have the details of those in front of me. I do not know whether those have been shared with Mr Dey. We need to be very careful about speculating, as Mr Dey has outlined. However, as Mr Dey alluded to, we will be absolutely transparent with the committee with regard to the report—or the action plan—that comes forward. It is important for members, particularly for local members, to have sight of the detail and an understanding of what happened. Ministers also want to be reassured in relation to that detail.

I accept the member’s challenge. On a point of principle, though, the minister and I will not agree with him about tuition fees—

I think that the committee will be aware that I wrote to the UK Government on that issue on 21 November. If the committee is not aware of that correspondence, I am happy to share details of it. The UK Government has not yet responded to it.

Of course, it is not just colleges and universities that will be impacted by the national insurance changes. We have forecasts on the issue, which are all initial estimates of how the changes might impact on my portfolio area. For children and social care, the figure is £4 million. For early learning and childcare, it is potentially £5 million. For universities, it is £45 million—although universities are excluded, they will, of course, need additional assistance, and my letter seeks to address that. For colleges, the estimate is sitting at around £20 million, although we are working with the Scottish Funding Council on some of the figures. Those are estimates, because we do not yet know how the UK Government will implement the changes to national insurance contributions. We do not yet have certainty on that, and the issue is creating a lot of uncertainty across the education sector.

I realise that your question is on colleges and universities, but the changes have potentially dire implications in other parts of my portfolio. We are seeking clarity from the UK Government. This is not just a matter for my portfolio; it is an issue across Government. I think that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government is currently leading on that work across Government. I am particularly concerned about the implications for the education and skills portfolio, because the changes, which we did not know were coming, will potentially have really serious implications for a number of areas of our education system.

Without clarity, it is difficult for us to give any further certainty beyond where we are at the current time. As and when I receive a response from the UK Government—I should point out that my letter was sent on 21 November—I will be happy to share that with the committee. The issue is very concerning, given some of the challenges that the changes will create.

Neil Rennick might want to speak about the broader work that we have undertaken.

In my negotiations with the cabinet secretary for finance, I asked for additionality for ASN and additionality for teacher numbers—again, an ask that was delivered on. I am pretty clear that this is a good settlement for education and skills, and it sees a 3 per cent increase in real terms for the portfolio more broadly. I hope that that will be welcomed.

That is a rather broad question, convener. Of course, child poverty is not—

You have to be mindful of the context in which we exist.

I should also have mentioned the early adopter communities, which will help to inform some of the evaluation that Andrew Watson just spoke about. Those communities are giving us data on what works and are helping us to inform what comes next, and the delivery approaches that they have been taking are already showing signs of real progress.

Forgive me, but I believe that the solution in England and Wales has been to increase tuition fees. I do not think that that is something to be considered in Scotland as we have a policy of funding free tuition.