 Rhaid i wneud. Fynd i ddefnyddio'r cymdeinig, dyfedurdad i'r brefyd. Rhaid i ddefnyddio'r cymdeinig, mwy ddim yn einegod arwyr i fynd i gael ffodol ynglynigau ond ar y f Scotty Maes. Rhaid i ydym ni'n môr yn y portyn, Oswyr S4M13203, y ffutur o Sgwntin i diseidio'r cyflodiadau yn y niogliadur ddiwrnod. Fynd i ddefnyddio'r cyflodiad i wneud dweud i gail o ffodol mewn eich ddefnyddio I hope that I will be called to speak in the debate later. The motion references a document, apparently, from the University of Edinburgh, which cannot be found publicly available. I invite you to consider whether it thus may be in breach of Parliament's rules on motions at 4.1, which state that the text of motions should not disclose any information that is confidential. I invite you, as Presiding Officer, under rule 6, to consider what guidance you might give us on the matter, and for the avoidance of doubt for yourself and for colleagues in raising this matter, I do so as an individual and not as a committee convener. I thank the member for the advance notice of this point of order. The member refers to the admissibility criteria that is set out in the guidance on motions. In particular, he refers to the point that the text of motions should not disclose information that is confidential. He asserts that the information referred to is confidential, as it is not publicly available. In this particular case, the information is in the public domain, as it was raised during FMQs last week and has also been covered in the media. The motion therefore meets the criteria for admissibility. However, in general terms, debates are better informed where information referred to in motions is easily available to all. That is our position. Thank you very much. I will now move on to portfolio questions. The first item of business this afternoon is portfolio questions. I now call on Bob Dorris question 1. To ask the Scottish Government what representations it will make to the UK Government to oppose the reported additional £12 billion in benefits reductions. As the First Minister made clear last week, the UK Government has not set out the details of how it will achieve the £12 billion of benefit reductions proposed in the Conservative manifesto. We know that, if Scotland takes a proportionate share of the proposed £12 billion, benefit expenditure in Scotland could be reduced by about £1 billion. We are very clear that we oppose further measures that will have an impact on the vulnerable in communities across Scotland. The member can rest assured that we will make that case strongly to the UK Government. That situation is causing anxiety and distress to many people. It is incumbent on us all in this Parliament to build alliances to argue for the protection of the vulnerable against deeper social security cuts. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. David Cameron suggested long ago 2012 that under-25s might have their housing benefit withdrawn by a future UK Conservative Government. Estimates show that there are more than 4,525 housing benefits in Glasgow region alone and more than 28,000 across Scotland. Such cuts would inflict untold misery on young Scots and exacerbate homelessness. Does the cabinet secretary agree that, in the first instance, the UK Government should abandon any potential plans to erode the basic human rights of young Scots to a home and that, ultimately, Scotland's Parliament should make all future decisions on welfare provisions for our nation? I agree with Mr Doris on both points. We know from the Tory manifesto that the proposal is to remove housing benefit from 18 to 21-year-olds, which would affect around 7,000 young people in Scotland. We believe that there is a better alternative to austerity and cruel measures, and it would be far better if this Parliament had full control over all social security matters, because we would take a much fairer and humane approach to all aspects of social security than that being taken by the UK Government at Westminster. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the City of Edinburgh Council regarding the authorities' proposed local development plan. I am happy to answer the first question. The council published a proposed local development plan in 2013 and a second one in 2014. My officials have discussed both proposed plans with council officials on a number of occasions as part of their general liaison with the planning authority and in specific discussions regarding the plan. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. I am aware that there have been lots of meetings, but will the cabinet secretary agree to take a fresh look at the plan to allow the council to prioritise brownfield developments and empower them to stop land banking, which has seen crucial sites not brought forward for development? Will he take on boards and understand the anger that many communities have, which is that land in their areas will be brought forward for development with this plan, but without the council having the funding to invest in vital schools, in social care and decent transport infrastructure? I am very sympathetic to the points made by Sarah Boyack. There is a great deal of brownfield land in Edinburgh. Much of it has already received planning permission, but no development has taken place. We need to get, in a city the size of Scotland's capital, a better balance between development in brownfield sites and development in any greenfield sites. Sarah Boyack raised points that are very relevant to discussion on the local development plan in Edinburgh. When eventually the LDP comes to us for comment and any decisions, we will be very conscious of the need to establish and then maintain that balance. Have you got any ideas on how we can incentivise the development of brownfield sites? That is part of the problem. There is no incentive for them. I recognise that, in a number of brownfield sites, by definition, they can be very difficult sites on occasion. Although many brownfield sites are almost as easy to develop as greenfield sites, I take the member's point that, in some cases, there may be a need to incentivise developers to build on such sites. I am entirely open to any suggestions, as long as it is proportionate and that public money is put to good use and provides any additionality, so that those sites would not be developed without additional public money in the form of incentives. However, I certainly have no objection at all, and every sympathy with the point that the member makes is that, certainly in some sites, there will be a need for a much closer partnership between the private and public sector to encourage the actual development, as opposed to planning permission for the development of brownfield sites. Brief questions and answers will help us to get through the questions. Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what impact the impact will be on young people in Scotland of the UK's proposal to end housing benefit for people under 21. The Conservative Party election manifesto proposed that 18 to 21-year-olds and job seekers allowance should no longer have an automatic entitlement to housing benefit. If housing benefit was to end for all people under 21 in Scotland, it would affect around 7,000 young people and take away more than £30 million a year in housing benefits payments for those in the age of 18 to 20 group. I thank the minister for that answer and, of course, listened intently to the cabinet secretary's comments to Bob Doris earlier. Given that we are undoubtedly agreed that it would be in extremely good order if all this was within our control but it isn't yet, what discussions the minister might have had with local authorities about the implications of this for their budgets, please. At the moment, with local authorities, it's part of what we've been under discussion with COSLA and the welfare reform group. As the cabinet secretary said, we in much of civic Scotland made the case for the full devolution of social security to ensure that we could have a more joined up system that helped the most vulnerable. That's what we're working towards with all our stakeholders and with local government in the third sector. Thank you, Richard Simpson. Further to that answer, can I ask the minister what representation she's made with regard to protecting particularly vulnerable groups like looked after children, those who've been subject to abuse in their family home, where separate housing is absolutely vital no matter what age they are? I absolutely agree with the member that separate housing is vital in a number of circumstances and we've always made that case and we'll continue to make that case. We're determined, we're opposed to any measure to cut housing benefit from young people and we'll continue with that and hope that we'll get the support from others across this chamber to do that and it certainly is something that we're actively looking at in our discussions with the third sector partners and with our local authority partners. We recognise very much the issues raised by Richard Simpson. Thanks. Question 4, in the name of Christian Allard, has not been lodged and a less than satisfactory explanation has been provided. Question 5, Jackson Carlaw. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to devolve powers to local communities. The Community Empowerment Scotland bill will deliver significant new rights and powers for communities across Scotland. We want to empower communities through the ownership of land and buildings and strengthen their voices in the decisions that matter to them. However, we are always open to discuss new approaches such as the groundbreaking discussions of the island areas ministerial working group that culminated in our prospectus for the islands. There is no single solution or magic bullet to empowerment and I welcome the interests and thoughts of all others around the chamber. Thanks Jackson Carlaw. Can I thank the minister for that interesting reply? Many believe that local communities should have a legal Scottish community right to challenge giving community and voluntary bodies the right to express interest in taking over a particular council run service. A local authority would be required to respond unless there were reasonable grounds for a refusal run a procurement process. The community right to challenge could see real power being devolved down to those who live and breathe those services within their local community. Will the Scottish Government consider material and substantive devolution to local communities such as that? I can extend some warm words to Jackson Carlaw on some good news. The community empowerment bill will introduce participation requests, which are a great deal more flexible than the community right to challenge, allowing communities to choose the degree of involvement they want to have in improving a public service. Unlike the right to challenge, however, participation requests will not open up local services to privatisation, forcing communities to bid against huge outsourcing companies. One of the powers that is devolved to local authorities is to charge for social care. Scotland Against the Care Tax would like the Government to use its power to abolish care charges altogether, but the Government has responded that it would prefer to work with local authorities. What progress has been made? As far as I can understand, no progress has been made at all about either introducing equity or towards abolition. Can the minister update us on what progress has been made in abolishing care charges? Discussions are on-going, and my colleague Shona Robison, who I am sure would be happy to write to the member to update him on work in progress. To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the UK Government concerning the Human Rights Act. On Friday, I wrote to Michael Gove, the new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, to reiterate the Scottish Government's opposition to the repeal of the Human Rights Act. The First Minister also raised the matter directly with the Prime Minister when he met last Friday. I sought an early meeting with Mr Gove to further underline our concerns. Those concerns are now shared by the overwhelming majority of members in the chamber as shown by the vote last November. Last week, I undertook to keep the Parliament informed of the progress of those discussions, and I am happy to reiterate that undertaking today. The UK Government's programme for the first session of the new UK Parliament will be set out in the Queen's Speech on 27 May. My colleague, the Minister for Parliamentary Business, will update the Scottish Parliament on the legislative consent implications of the Queen's Speech in due course. I am very grateful that he has expressed the importance of this Parliament for what is proposed, but in his letter he specifically raised the necessity of a legislative consent motion, which clearly will not be approved by this Parliament. Is it not the case that what is proposed drives a coach and horses through the Scotland Act, as well as putting the UK potentially outside the family of nations committed to universal human rights? The repeal of the Human Rights Act and the withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights has potentially huge implications, not just for the Scotland Act, but for the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland as well. We have made it absolutely clear that there will be no co-operation from this Government in the repeal of the Human Rights Act. We believe that it is a very regressive and reactionary measure and that it is entirely the wrong thing to do. If the opportunity arises for us to frustrate the passage of such legislation in any way whatsoever, I am sure that most of the Parliament will be united in exploiting any such opportunities to the full. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on disabled people in Scotland of the Department for Work and Pensions proposal to cap the access to work scheme. The Scottish Government has sought urgent assurances from the Department for Work and Pensions on how its intention to cap support that is available through the access to work scheme will impact disabled people in Scotland. The DWP estimate, based on current delivery, is that the number of individuals likely to be affected in Scotland is small, but we are continuing to work with DWP to better understand the future impact of those changes in Scotland and to press for assurances that those affected receive the support that they require. Can I thank the minister for her response and I am very pleased that the matter is being given further consideration, because the access to work scheme is a real success in the support that it provides for disabled people to access and sustain employment. Could I ask the cabinet secretary therefore what action the Scottish Government itself is taking to support disabled people in accessing employment? We are taking a number of different actions and that will include the delivery of developing Scotland's young workforce, which has already been debated in the chamber, outcomes from Community Jobs Scotland that are specifically for vulnerable groups, and in improving the uptake of modern apprenticeships by disabled people, which we also discussed last week. In fact, in that regard, we have committed £500 million to delivering an equalities action plan, which will be published in autumn 2015, which will contain within its specific improvement targets for, among others, those who are disabled. We are also promoting and supporting the supported employment framework and are working closely with partners, including local authorities, in order to support them to develop and deliver this model locally. Of course, as well as that, we also see supported businesses as one small but important part of the overall support that is available to disabled people. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce child poverty in West Scotland. Minister Margaret Burgess. We take a national approach to tackling the long-term drivers of poverty through early intervention and prevention. Our commitment to building a fairer Scotland and tackling inequality is one of three key themes of the programme for government. As part of that programme, we are further promoting the living wage across all sectors, delivering on our commitment to 600 hours free childcare for three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds, and providing around £296 million from 2013-14 to 2015-16 to help those who are affected by the UK Government's welfare reforms. Over the lifetime of this Parliament, we are also investing over £1.7 billion in affordable housing. I thank the minister for that response. Can the minister tell me if she has read Renfrewshire Council's report on tackling poverty in Renfrewshire? Further, tell me what specific action the Scottish Government will take on the recommendation calling on them to allocate school resources to reflect levels of deprivation and specifically link those resources to closing the attainment gap and ensuring more pupils from low-income achieve positive destinations? The Scottish Government is committed to raising attainment in education and has recently put funding into that very purpose to encourage those from disadvantaged areas to get access to education, and that has been recently an announcement made. We also put tackling poverty in any quality at the heart of government through policies that we have in council tax reads, free prescriptions, working with local authorities at NHS and others to tackle child poverty. We also have our child poverty annual report, which highlights the work that has been undertaken by local government, the third sector in business, which includes the introduction of a full measurement framework, which will provide an overview of the current position on key outcomes against which progress will be measured in future annual reports. We will also, the Government is committed to appointing an independent adviser on poverty and inequality reporting directly to the First Minister. Thank you very much. We now move to portfolio questions on fair work, skills and training. I want to ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the number of apprenticeships in woodwork. The modern apprenticeship programme is driven by the demand of employers rather than by Government. We are, however, committed to expanding the number of MA opportunities each year to 30,000 by 2020. Additional MAs, including more higher-level and STEM opportunities, will help to create a competitive and dynamic business environment to support sustainable economic growth and higher quality jobs. As far as woodwork specifically is concerned, I can say to the member that there are already a number of MA frameworks that include woodwork, including those in construction, in wood and timber and in furniture furnishings and interiors. The number of starts on those frameworks has risen significantly from 61 in 2012-13 to over 1300 in 2014-15. I thank the minister for her response. What is the Scottish Government doing to encourage the combination of business acumen with skills training in modern apprenticeships? The modern apprenticeship programme works closely with a number of sectors. As I said in my initial response, the modern apprenticeship programme is driven by the demand of employers. Of course, we work closely with business to ensure that the modern apprenticeship programme meets its needs, as well as the needs of the young people who learn the vital skills that they need to make their way in life, while at the same time, crucially, earning a wage. Thank you to ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address skills shortages in key industries of economic growth. Through the development of sectoral skills investment plans and regional skills assessments, we committed to delivering demand-led skills provision to meet the skills needs key industries and the wider Scottish economy. Developed by SDS in conjunction with industry bodies, those plans provide a framework for businesses and employers to articulate the right skills needed to support the development of Scotland's growth sectors. The SIPs have been developed to identify and respond to the skills priorities that are required to support the industrial sectors in achieving their growth potential. During 2013-14, there were 25,284 modern apprenticeship starts with over 70 different occupational frameworks available. In delivering that programme, the Scottish Government directs Skills Development Scotland to prioritise places on frameworks relating to Government economic strategy growth sectors. I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for that response, but she will be aware that a number of industries, including construction and stem professions, have recently warned of the looming skills shortage, which threatens their economic growth. She has mentioned modern apprentices, and, of course, she offers a great opportunity to earn as she learns and train Scotland's young people with the skills that they need for sustainable employment. However, what steps the Scottish Government can take to more effectively match apprenticeship opportunities with the industries that are identified as being most in need of additional skilled employees? As a member will have heard from my colleague, people need to keep in their minds that the apprenticeship programme is effectively employer-led. We do not create the jobs, but we provide the means by which they can become modern apprenticeships. However, the member has raised a number of sectors with whom he, I hope, will be glad to know that I have already had close conversation. That includes the construction sector. I visited the national construction college during the Easter recess. I have discussed the issue of road haulage with the newly formed group there, and we are all aware of the challenges in the digital skills area as well. Those are areas with which we continue to have a dialogue with employers, but we rely enormously on the trade bodies to flag up potential shortages so that, instead of having to work reactively, we can begin to work more proactively. To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking under the fair work skills and training portfolio to support the Fife economy. The Scottish Government is committed to the economic development of Fife and is using all levers at our disposal to maximise investment to support economic growth and to create jobs. The fair work skills and training portfolio provides for significant support to, for example, young people in Fife through the employability fund, through opportunities for all, through the modern apprenticeship programme, through developing the young workforce and other initiatives. In addition, the Scottish Government has demonstrated its commitment to economic development in Fife through its support of Fife's five councils delivery of the business gateway service and, of course, to Scottish Enterprise. I would also say to the member, as I know that she will be well aware, that we have the on-going work of the recently established joint task force to which we have committed an initial £6 million. The minister, in her reply, acknowledged the situation at Tillers Russell, and they were done to see issues being faced by many workers there. I also welcome the task force report that was published last week from the Scottish Government and five council. Part of the plan is £100,000 for immediate training needs, followed by £1.5 million for further skills development and training. The minister talked about what we are providing for young people—most of the workforce at Tillers Russell—araged over 40. What will the minister do in her role to ensure that there are appropriate training and skills opportunities for the more mature and experienced workforce? I thank the member for her supplementary work. I know that she takes a keen interest, as we all do, in representing Fife in the work of the joint task force, and we wish it all success. In terms of the spending that was announced in terms of the initial sums of £100,000 to respond to people's immediate training needs and a further £500,000 for skills development and training in the short term, I would say that I would be working closely with the Enterprise Minister and, of course, with Fife Council to ensure that we see that money being spent absolutely where it is needed most. I can give that assurance to the member that that is and how we intend to proceed. Just in relation to the Fife task force, can the minister confirm or is she happy that the amount of money allocated for the immediate training needs is going to be adequate and can it be reviewed if it proves to be inadequate? I would say to the member that the decisions taken at the task force last Thursday were stated to be initial responses. Therefore, it is the work of the task force that will direct the progress, based on how we are dealing with the challenges on the ground. However, I am sure that the Minister for Enterprise will keep the member and others fully informed of the important work of the task force. I know that all members across the chamber, across parties, wish the task force all success. To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide for East Lothian Council to increase employment opportunities for young people. East Lothian Council will benefit from the wide range of Scottish Government-funded programmes and services. Young people in East Lothian will continue to have access to our expanding modern apprenticeship programme. Of course, there is the Education and Maintenance Alliance activity agreements, the Youth Employment Scotland fund and Community Jobs Scotland, to name but some. In March of this year, we allocated to local authorities—notification to local authorities of their share of the £6.5 million funding in 2014-15—to support implementation of the developing young workforce programme. In partnership with educational institutions and other agencies, East Lothian is preparing an implementation plan to continue to reduce youth unemployment in the area. The minister is absolutely right that the local council has prepared an implementation plan to share its element of the Government's developing the young workforce strategy. It has a good track record in those areas, not least projects such as the East Lothian Hospitality and Tourism Academy, which has become well known for providing opportunities for young people. I want to ask specifically what financial support the council will receive in carrying out their share of the Government plan. After all, the Government has required them to find £11 million worth of cuts in the next three years. In terms of the allocation for £14.15 under the developing young workforce, if I was not quite clear if that was what the member was getting at, that figure is £125,349, in terms of the allocation for £15.16. I understand that those issues are currently under discussion. In terms of local authority funding, we have to work within the confines of the Scottish budget, which is set first of the institution. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the department for work and pensions report equality analysis for the future of access to work. I believe that the member was in the chamber when I answered the similar question from Jackie Baillie in the previous portfolio questions. I can reassure him that we are continuing to work with the DWP to better understand the future impact of the changes and to press for assurances that those affected receive the support that they require. The report outlines that 89.5 per cent of those affected by the proposed capping of awards at £40,800 would be deaf or suffering from some degree of hearing loss. Would the cabinet secretary agree that, in light of this acknowledged consequence, the planned approach not only does not square with the Conservatives' manifesto commitment to bring hundreds of thousands of disabled people into work, but is in fact knowingly going to exclude a specific disability group from gaining meaningful employment? We are concerned about the impact that the cap may have on those who are deaf or have hearing loss because of the numbers who do benefit from it. We are committed to supporting the deaf community in Scotland and do fully recognise the importance of British Sign Language as a vital means of communication to help people to find and stay in work. In general terms, the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives can offer advice to employers on how to make reasonable workplace adjustments to accommodate employees with disabilities and can signpost people to organisations that can give more specific advice on particular disabilities and conditions. Of course, that does require assistance of the kind that has been hitherto available through access to work, and it is a concern if that is now going to be cut, particularly if there is a differential impact on one very particular group of the disabled. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to identify the skills that will be needed by the future workforce. Through the development of sexual skills investment plans and regional skills assessments, we are committed to delivering demand-led skills provision to meet the needs of local labour markets and the wider Scottish economy. Developed by SDS in conjunction with industry bodies, the plans provide a framework for businesses and employers to articulate the right skills needed to support the development of Scotland's growth sectors. The SIPs have been developed to identify and respond to the skills priorities that are required to support the industrial sectors in achieving their growth potential. I note that the Minister for Youth and Women's Employment earlier this year visited Fife College's Stenton campus to learn about its engineering pathfinder in Fife. Would the cabinet secretary agree with me that such partnership working involving schools and employers is an excellent way of meeting the needs of young people and local businesses, and what steps will the Government take to encourage this approach across Scotland? That was a pilot project in respect of foundation apprenticeships, which we are now going to be rolling out. There has been a considerable financial announcement made just earlier this week of £3.8 million to provide further 500 MA places. As well as higher-level apprenticeships, that will focus on foundation apprenticeships as well. The particular visit that the member is referring to, I heard about in detail from my colleague, and indeed I am using one of the anecdotes that she came back with as something that I repeat quite often, because it seems to have been extraordinarily successful, although there were not perhaps quite as many young girls involved that we might otherwise have wished to see. However, there was a lesson to be learned about the school that did turn up with a number of young women, and that is something that we do want to keep an eye on. To ask the Scottish Government how it can assist former members of the armed services in training for a new career. The Scottish Government is determined to provide the highest possible support and opportunities for our veterans, and we recognise that many veterans require additional support to enter work after leaving the armed forces. Early entry to the Scottish Government-funded projects is available to veterans who are also able to take advantage of initiatives such as Community Jobs Scotland and the Youth Employment Scotland fund. The recent transition in Scotland report from Eric Fraser, Scotland's veterans commissioner, commented that opportunities for veterans should be promoted to demonstrate the skills, experience and resilience that veterans bring to our communities and in the workplace. We will work with the commissioner to identify what further action might be taken to support this group. Given that a recent survey by Poppy Scotland found that 37 per cent of veterans said the problems they encountered seeking civilian employment were due to a lack of relevant training or skills, what more can be done to maximise relevant training opportunities? In fact, the member will likely be aware that the ministerial lead for armed forces and veterans issues is the cabinet secretary Keith Brown. I know that he continues to engage with the ministerial defence to ensure that transitional support offered to service personnel is consistent with the approach that we are seeking to develop in Scotland. In the veterans commissioner's report, he identified a number of areas where further work could be done to enhance support for service leavers in helping to prepare them for the civilian jobs market. In particular, the report identified the need for a comprehensive look at the policies and support available in Scotland for opening access to further and higher education for service leavers of all ages. It also highlighted opportunities for further development using examples such as the learning partnership that was highlighted by Glasgow Caledonian University with the armed forces, the three-city colleges and Glasgow's Helping Heroes. The commissioner is now looking at the ways in which the further and higher education sectors in Scotland can provide more support for service leavers and for veterans. I welcome the minister's comments on it, particularly in relation to support to moving towards employment. I wonder whether she would agree to have discussions with the veterans minister Keith Brown and with Shona Robison about screening of veterans coming out of the forces, particularly after having been engaged in actual conflict, because many of them actually have unrecognised health problems that are a barrier to their achieving effective employment. I thank the member for his question. As a former active member of the cross-party group on veterans, I am aware of that issue and I will be happy to raise that both with the cabinet secretary Keith Brown and the cabinet secretary Shona Robison in the second meeting. I also, for the member's information, had already put in motion although the process of government does not always work quickly. I request to meet with the veterans commissioner on the subject of his report as far as it impacts on this portfolio. Excellent. Question 8, Neil Bibby. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to meet skills needs in West Scotland. There are a number of programmes in place to develop the skills and employability of people in the west of Scotland, including our expanding modern apprenticeship programme, the Employability Fund, Community Jobs Scotland and that is alongside provision available through regional colleges and university education. Through the development of sectoral skills investment plans and regional skills assessments, which for the west of Scotland included specific reports on Glasgow, Glasgow and Clyde Valley and Ayrshire, we committed to delivering demand-led skills provision to meet the needs of local labour markets and the wider Scottish economy. The cabinet secretary will be aware that many people need flexibility in order to balance training or retraining with employment and childcare requirements. Can I therefore ask the minister why the recent Audit Scotland report found that there had been a 48 per cent reduction in the number of part-time students going to college since 2009 and given that there has also been a 41 per cent drop in the number of over 25s going to college over the same period? Why is this government happy to slam the college door on so many people who want to train or retrain? Isn't it interesting that we are just hearing the same old same old from Labour? I think that that is rather unfortunate. We have said frequently in this chamber that in 2013-14 there was an increase of 3 per cent over the year in SFE, SFC-funded full-time equivalents. There are a number of different things that can be said, not least of which the work that is being done with colleges is to ensure that the studies that are undertaken are studies that direct people towards work. The courses that are no longer being funded are those that are not leading to employment provision. I would have expected Labour to have wanted to support anything that was directing people into courses that would lead to employment when they came out of college instead of the constant refrain that is achieving absolutely nothing. Question 9, in the name of Jim Eadie, has been withdrawn on a satisfactory explanation provided. Question 10, Rob Gibson. To ask the Scottish Government how it is encouraging more women to take up engineering roles in the renewable energy sector. We recognise that women are underrepresented in the renewable energy sector and that includes in engineering roles. We are taking action across a number of fronts to improve the situation such as the recently announced £500,000 to develop and deliver a modern apprenticeship equalities action plan. That will include improvement targets for addressing gender imbalance. We also commissioned a full equalities impact assessment on the renewables route map. That will be published shortly as part of the route map update. The minister for that detailed answer. I think that the minister would hopefully welcome the conclusions of a piece of work by a recent intern of mine, Lucy Moore, on women in Scottish renewables breaking down the barriers to success. I wonder if the minister would also come to my constituency at some point and see the work of SSE, which is one of the leading firms in the renewable industry that could employ more women. I was indeed pleased to receive a copy of the research project carried out by Lucy Moore, the former intern of the member. I have, in fact, raised a number of points made in that report with officials and those points are currently being considered. There is, of course, more work to be done to encourage more women into the renewable sector. In that regard, the member may be interested to know that I am to meet in a few weeks with representatives of the wires organisation, that is women in renewable energy Scotland. I wish to discuss with them how we can make further progress in encouraging women both to get a job in the renewable sector but also crucially to secure career progression in that sector. I would also say to the member that I would be delighted to visit his constituency and to see the good work that SSE is doing in that regard. That concludes portfolio questions. We now move on to the next item of business, which is a debate on motion number 13203 in the name of Jackie Baillie on the future