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My understanding of the significant uplift that Mr Hepburn refers to in the college investment strategy is that it is, in essence, one project, although it is a very valid and worthwhile project in Fife. If the minister feels that there is another large amount of money that we have not seen, he could write to us and tell us where it is, because I cannot see it.

That is a clear misrepresentation of what I said. I said that there is a welcome project in Fife. The minister referred to the ageing infrastructure across the country—it is all ageing at the same rate—and then said that he is making significant investment. Actually, the Government is funding one project, although it is a worthwhile project, as I said clearly.

I will move on. In our inquiry, a number of people have raised worries about completion rates in Scotland’s colleges. To start off on that, are you concerned at the rate of completion of courses by students in Scotland’s colleges?

If I can, convener—

I would like the minister to reflect on what we are hearing from the sector more directly. He makes the argument that it is about overheads and that it is more expensive to educate a student at a university than it is to educate a student at a college. Does he recognise the feeling in the college sector that colleges are very much treated as the poor relations in the portfolio, not just in comparison to universities but also in comparison to schools? That is not just about the rate of money per pupil but is also reflected in the capital budget. I have had principals tell me that they are ashamed of the condition of their buildings, because there is no money to invest in them.

We can see the numbers, but do you understand that that is how the leaders and the teachers in colleges feel?

I am sorry, minister, but you are telling us that your understanding is not being reflected in your decisions. You say that you have that sympathy, but you are the person in charge, who makes the decisions and sets the priorities. You have to be able to defend that differential.

How many children does that raw figure of 20 per cent represent?

You will understand that, as part of the process that we are undertaking here—scrutiny of the budget throughout the year—it would be very useful for us to have the figures that you indicated are not available to us today so that we can make representations to the Government, partially on your behalf with regard to sustainability. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you could provide that information to the committee, perhaps in writing, after the event. I understand that you might have to go through the democratic process in Fife Council, but it would be useful for us to have an indication of those figures.

I will move on to ask a fairly short question about deferrals. Will the various councils that are represented today give us an early indication of the impact of the expansion of eligibility for funded early learning and childcare for children whose entry to primary school has been deferred? What is the impact of that on the budgets and resources that are available? Stewart, are you able to tell us about the early indications?

The questions on the PVI sector reflect how important it is strategically, and it is good to hear colleagues recognise that. The sector represents half of all nursery provision across Scotland, which is a huge part of the provision for families. We talked about setting a sustainable rate. The real living wage has recently increased by 10 per cent. Will the councils be uplifting by 10 per cent the rate that they pay their PVI providers? That question is for Carrie Lindsay first.

What was the rate of uplift last year?

While I ask my other questions, I will try to work out the percentage increase there. If you have that number to hand, or if anybody else does, that would be useful to me.