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Thank you.

I welcome all the witnesses. We have talked a lot about the performance of regulators. In its current form, the bill gives the Scottish Government new powers to review the performance of regulators. Some people have argued that that could undermine the independence of the legal profession from the state. I am interested in whether the witnesses think that there is a risk that the bill could jeopardise the independence of the legal profession.

Thank you for your warm welcome to the committee, convener. I have no declaration of interests to make now, but that could change in the future. If it does, I will alert you to that.

I have a final question. With the pilot being launched this year, will the Government be able to have the programme fully implemented by the initial date of September 2025?

I thank you for that response, minister, but are we saying that rural young people should stay in rural settings? Rural young people should have the flexibility to move into urban settings, should they wish to learn there, but, as it stands just now, and particularly in the case of New College Lanarkshire, we are actually closing the door to rural young people who might want to study there.

I understand that it is not the Government’s role to tell colleges what to do, but, if New College Lanarkshire is facing a £4.3 million cut, it has few options. I understand that the college is going to review the nursery issue in December, but what security does that give to people who work in those settings or to students who are on courses now but who might have to find alternative childcare at the last moment?

I will continue with the theme of the impact that the budgetary issues are having on our college estates. Like Bob Doris, I will use a case study—in this case, New College Lanarkshire. The halls of residence at the Motherwell campus have closed and the nurseries at the Cumbernauld and Coatbridge campuses have also closed. Those closures impact not just the hard-working staff at those facilities but our learners, whether rural young people who look to study in more urban areas or students with young children.

In last week’s debate, I referred to the example of a young person from Argyll who is no longer able to go to college because the student accommodation on the Motherwell campus has closed. We are moving beyond the stage where things are deeply regrettable and can now see the direct consequences that budgetary issues have for our young people.

What support is the Government offering for students who find themselves in such circumstances? Is the Government saying that rural young people cannot go to college because of budget cuts?

I can agree with you on that point, minister, but I hope that you share my concern that closing student accommodation will directly prevent young people from doing that.

Finally, on the back of the issues surrounding New College Lanarkshire, Unison is calling for a review of college finances and governance. What is the minister’s response to that? Will a full review take place?

I have a quick supplementary question. I take your point on that, minister, but it comes down to choices—all Governments have to make choices. Given the budgetary concerns that you have just voiced, I would have expected that the student exchange programme would have been brought to the Scottish Government Cabinet, to be discussed at a higher level. My understanding is that the issue has not been brought to Cabinet, but please correct me if I am wrong on that.

There does not seem to be a consistent thread of reporting on the programme. Why is that the case? Why have progress reports not been provided? An important element of the programme’s implementation is to ensure that people are updated on the progress that the Government is making.

No—not at this time, convener.

I want to pick up on the youth work aspect. When Liz Green attended a previous meeting of the committee, at which I was present, she said that progress had stalled around last summer or autumn and that regular meetings with the Government had stopped around January or February. I appreciate that you are newly in your post, minister, but do you know why those meetings stopped? If you are looking to have a youth element, which I believe is important, should you not be having regular meetings with stakeholders?