Seòmar agus comataidhean

Before she does so, is your point about companies cherry picking workers from the supply chain a reason why you are in favour of the apprenticeship grant? I take it that those companies were not participating in that, as they were just taking staff from elsewhere.

I see that Sharon Drysdale wants to comment.

On that point and on Katie Hutton’s points about flexibility and people being able to move from one field to another, is the funding flexible enough? If the training has to change slightly, will it be easy for the funding to follow that?

My next question touches on the role of SDS. How do you gauge what the future demand and the future market will be? How has that been impacted and changed by what has happened over the past two years? Has there been a rethinking of the types of apprentices that we will need, how many we will need and in which markets?

I have a question for Allan Colquhoun. How does SAAB ensure that its membership is representative of industry in Scotland in respect of both the current labour market and expected or emerging demand? Particularly after Covid, how do you recognise what the demand will be?

I see that Frank Mitchell wants to comment.

If forecasting was easy, I would have won the pools some time ago.

It seems that, in some sectors, people do not realise that there are good opportunities for apprenticeships, future progression, good learning experiences and so on. How can you fill that hole?

Can we confirm that this is not about letting someone leave the barred list but is only about allowing them to make an application? There seems to be some confusion here. It is as if we are saying that people would be automatically free from the bar after five years.

Can you give us some information about automatic listing? What does it entail? What percentage of people on the barred list have been automatically listed? How many of those have ever been taken off the list?

I was not going to come in at this stage, but, further to Michael Marra’s questions, I think that we should clarify that there is X amount of money to go round and that poverty is to be found not just in cities such as Glasgow or Dundee but in council areas and constituencies right across the country. It is only right that we target those who are in need on the basis not of geography but of that need.

Is it not also true that COSLA, through the Labour leader of Inverclyde Council, Stephen McCabe, who is COSLA’s children and young people spokesperson, has welcomed the new funding allocation? It just seems fairer. Michael Marra rightly defends his constituents, but he can do that in the chamber. Here, we are meant to be looking at what is best for children across the country, not just those in the constituencies or cities that we represent.