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Through the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) annual allocations process, universities are allocated funding for the provision of funded undergraduate places for eligible Scottish domiciled students. It is then for the universities themselves to decide how to distribute these places along with postgraduate and alternatively funded undergraduate places between faculties and the courses they offer. Universities are responsible for their own admissions policies but should consider their long-term stability by actively diversifying their international student intake and seeking alternative funding sources. Indicative allocations of funding for 2025-26 will be published on SFC’s website in the next few weeks.

The Scottish Government is resolutely committed to free tuition, and the position that access to university should remain based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay. This commitment to free tuition also means that, unlike elsewhere in the UK, Scottish students studying in Scotland do not incur additional debt of up to £27,750 and average student loan debt in Scotland is the lowest in the UK.

The Scottish Government recognises the pivotal role played by Scotland’s world-class universities in our economy and wider society. Ministers listened closely to the sector in the development of this year’s budget and are investing over £1.1 billion in university teaching and research. Since February we have also announced a further £25 million to support universities facing financial challenges.

While the University of Edinburgh is an autonomous institution with responsibility for its own strategic and operational decision making, the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council will continue to offer support to individual universities, including Edinburgh, as they develop their own plans to mitigate financial challenges. The Scottish Funding Council, as part of its regular engagement with the University of Edinburgh, will continue to monitor the impact on students, staff and research of the University’s cost-saving programme.

In line with our Fair Work principles, the Scottish Government expects the University of Edinburgh to work with trade unions and staff representatives to reach the right decisions and ensure workers are treated fairly; and for workers to have appropriate channels for maintaining constructive and meaningful dialogue with the University.

The Scottish Government would also expect students to be appropriately supported by the University throughout this period, and to receive timely information about the impact of any proposed changes to provision.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6O-02021 on 16 March 2023 All answers to Oral Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at Official Report: search what was said in Parliament | Scottish Parliament Website

The recently announced £102 million apprenticeship funding for 2025-26 represents a projection of the funding Skills Development Scotland (SDS) will spend to support 25,500 new Modern Apprenticeship (MA) starts and 2,500 Foundation Apprenticeship (FA) starts, as well as MAs and FAs already in training.

The following tables include this projected spend for 2025-26, as well as projected outturn for 2024-25, and the actual value that SDS has spent in prior years on MA and FA provision, both in cash and real terms.

My letter of strategic guidance for Skills Development Scotland in 2025-26 places an emphasis on the delivery of apprenticeships in the sectors that are most vital to Scotland’s economy and society. These include those that support the transition to Net Zero, and are most likely to result in high quality, long-term employment and meaningful career pathways for participants. In addition, we continue to fund in other sectors to help meet the skills needs of employers. A particular priority for the programme is on encouraging greater participation from small and micro businesses.

Of the 700,000 reported homes that failed the tolerable standard in 2023, 244,000 were social homes. This means that 8% of social homes failed the tolerable standard.

Social landlords are required, under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, to keep houses they let fit for human habitation and ensure that any repairs are carried out when they are needed.

We work closely with social landlords in our shared ambition to provide quality, affordable social homes and continue to have constructive engagement with them on a range of matters.

The cause behind the reported increase in homes falling below the tolerable standard since 2018 is due to the introduction of the fire and smoke alarm, and carbon monoxide criteria in 2022.

The legal duty to take action on houses that do not meet the tolerable standard rests with the local authority. No homeowner will be criminalised if they need more time, and there are no penalties for non-compliance.

The overall condition of housing in Scotland has been steadily improving over the years, driven by existing standards. The Scottish Government is committed to tackling disrepair and driving a culture in which good maintenance is given a high priority.

The increase in the tolerable standard failure rate between 2018 and 2023 is due to the introduction of the fire and smoke alarm, and carbon monoxide alarm criteria. The Scottish House Conditions Survey results for 2023 show that 562,000 dwellings failed the smoke and fire alarm criteria while 407,000 failed the carbon monoxide alarm criteria, although some of these dwellings will overlap.

When previously analysed in 2022 it was found that without the fire and smoke alarm, and carbon monoxide alarm criteria the tolerable standard failure rate was similar to 2018 with an estimated 55,000 households or 2% of all dwellings below tolerable standard.