 Rwy'n gwneud ei fod i, ar y ddyfyn i'r parthfoliw gwaith, a hyn gan silk i ddangos gael mewn pethau fel y cael mewn gwirionedd, byw i'r rhawb, yn gwybodaethau, yn ymddangos gael a ysgolu'r dyfodol. We now move to portfolio questions on social justice, communities and pension rights. Question 1, Rob Gibson. Ysgrifffordd o dda, Llyfridog ddechrau y gafeligau o��wyr ydw i'n bethau i'ch perthygian Cymdeinig? Mae sydd yn cefnod graphicsau yng Nghymru, ac ar amser cewddion cael ei byd yn fawr weithgawdd ar hyn, oherwydd y cymryd hynny. Felly, y ffordd gyrfaeth, ffordd i gwylliannol, y bwrdd ac i gwylliant o ffwrdd neu â'r bwlith. Gwylliannol yw, cymryd yn cyddiwg ymgyrch, yn eich ddweud yn y ffordd, dych chi'n ffordd ar gyfer nyferwyr cymryd, gan rydych chi'ch 21 per cent for new dwellings and 43 per cent for new non-domestic buildings when compared to current standards. Rob Gibson. I thank the minister for that. Is the minister aware that local Scottish source timber for buildings embeds more carbon than the import of photovoltaic equipment and that planners do not seem to give timber construction buildings preference? What assessment has been made to compare the cost of insulation properties of current mass-built conventional housing with the potential of mass-built wooden homes in our fight against fuel poverty and reducing heating costs for families across Scotland? Through building standards in terms of energy efficiency, no assessments have been carried out to compare the benefits of different types of construction materials. Generally, the mandatory standards do not favour one form of construction over another. That in particular helps to avoid any issues in terms of European construction products regulations where favouring one form could be considered to be a barrier to trade. I hope that planners would be aware of that. It is recognised that current new-build energy standards and supporting guidance already make a very significant contribution to mitigating fuel poverty. That contribution will be further increased in October 2015, when the next set is announced. To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to people facing poverty. We are committed to tackling the long-term drivers of poverty through early intervention and prevention. That is why, over the lifetime of this Parliament, we have planned to invest over £1.7 billion in affordable housing. That is why we are spending around £1.25 billion in fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes over a three-year period. That is why we have contributed to collecting investment of more than £274 million in the early years change fund. Further to that, the First Minister outlined a range of actions to tackle poverty and inequality in the programme for government. As part of that programme, we are having to provide over £104 million of devolved funding in 2015-16 to mitigate the welfare cuts that are being imposed by Westminster. Can I thank the minister for that answer and welcome all of the measures that she has outlined in that answer? Will the minister agree with me that local authorities play a very important part in delivering some of those front-line services? Is she as horrified as me at South Lanarkshire Council's proposals to cut things such as the Covid-by-prend services, funding to advice services, teacher numbers, nursery teacher numbers, and now the council leader has thrown the toys out the pram and refused to set a budget when it comes to budget set in time? I would certainly agree with Christina McKelvie that local authorities have a responsibility in delivering the services and that their local government settlement is a good settlement to do that, but individual local authorities are responsible for managing their own budgets and when doing so they allocate the resources available to them according to local needs and priorities while at the same time recognising statutory obligations. We encourage councils to use their resources to address poverty and inequality and we encourage them to engage actively with communities in the democratic process of deciding their priorities for spending. Can I ask the minister if she recognises that families containing a disabled adult, 20% of them live in relative poverty whereas for families without a disabled adult the figure is only 14%. Can I ask whether or not the minister has made an assessment of the impact of rising care charges on disabled adults in recent years and in particular whether she promises to get rid of Scotland's unfair care tax? The Scottish Government has previously announced that that is something that we are looking at with COSLA in terms of the care charges but in terms of what this Government is doing to tackle poverty in disabled families and in other families with a whole programme outlined our child poverty strategy, what has already announced to Christina McKelvie and what we are doing in general over the peace for poverty and we are also continuing to do that with our social wage, which is helping families with disabled children and families throughout Scotland. Question 3, Alex Fergs. To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Dumfries and Galloway Council and Unison regarding equal pay claims from 2005. Cabinet Secretary, Alex Neil. The Equal Pay for Local Government staff is the responsibility of councils as employers. The Scottish Government has therefore not had any engagement with the Dumfries and Galloway Council in Unison about equal pay claims from 2005. Alex Fergs. I am grateful for that confirmation but last week many classroom assistants and special leaders assistants in Dumfries and Galloway received notification from their union of a settlement of this long-running equal pay claim that it has been pursuing against the council. Inevitably in such a rural area, many employees did not hear about the ability to claim and I have already heard from a number of my constituents whose colleagues will receive some ranging from a few hundred pounds to several thousand pounds while they will receive nothing and have been told by the council that any further claims will be time barred. I am sure that the cabinet secretary will agree with me that this is not fair and it is most certainly not equal. Can he tell me if there are any steps that the Government could take to intervene in this situation and I also wonder if he would agree to meet with me to discuss it? I absolutely agree with the member and indeed in my own area, North Lanarkshire Council or Labour-controlled Council, they have spent thousands of pounds fighting the workers fighting for equal pay. It is outrageous and I am more than happy to meet the member and although I have very limited statutory responsibilities in this area, I certainly think that maximum political pressure should go in all the recalcitrant local authorities who are not playing fair with their own employees. Question 4, Elaine Murray. To ask the Scottish Government how it will support town centre regeneration in Dumfreshire in 2015-16. We have published the town centre action plan one year on report last November. The report was debated in this chamber and sets out the range of actions that we as a Government are taking to support town centre regeneration. That includes expanding fresh start rates relief for small businesses, increasing opportunities for town centre living and agreeing the town centre first principles with COSLA. Local authorities are best placed to respond to the local needs of their communities and to work with them to develop the right vision for the town centres. The town centre action plan sets the conditions for this to happen. We call on the wider public, private and community sectors to take action to help address issues faced by our town centres. Dr Murray. I thank the cabinet secretary for his reply. Regeneration initiatives involving community groups, housing associations and the local council are all under way in several towns and villages in my constituency, but I note that none, for example, have been successful in achieving funding through the regeneration capital grant fund. Can the minister advise what support is available from government to support regeneration in smaller communities and what opportunities it provides to enable good practice in achieving funding to be shared? One of the most successful initiatives ever undertaken by this Parliament that had unanimous support was the town centre regeneration fund, which spent £60 million, including in the number of projects in Dumfries and Galloway. Ideally, I would like to rekindle that kind of project. Unfortunately, because of the capital cuts from Westminster, we have been unable to do so. Having said that, there are a range of funds depending on the nature of the projects that local groups can apply for. I am happy to ask my officials to send a list of all such funds that may be available for application. Margaret McAlloch, I thank you, Presiding Officer. The Scottish Government previously indicated that both the new start and the fresh start relief schemes could support town centre regeneration. Yet, in a written question, I was told that data on the uptake of those schemes is not held centrally. How is the Government monitoring the effectiveness of the new start and the fresh start schemes? As with normal, with all those schemes, from time to time, we do a full-scale evaluation and we do that in co-operation with the local authorities involved. If we monitor everything centrally and collect all the information, we need another army of officials to gather all that information. It is much better to do a proper evaluation on a timmiest basis, either as part of a conquinial review process or if a conquinial review is too long to do it before a conquinial review, but to do it as an independent evaluation task. Question 5, Siobhan MacMann. To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on preventing youth homelessness. Minister, Margaret Burgess. Preventing homelessness amongst young people is a priority for the Scottish Government, and this work is overseen by the Homeless Prevention and Strategy Group. We have seen a fall in homeless applications to local authorities from 16 to 24-year-olds from around 15,000 a year between 2003-04 and 2010-11, to under 9,000 a year during 2013-14, primarily due to the person-centred housing options approach that is being taken forward by local authorities. The Scottish Government also provides funding for a range of third sector projects working to prevent homelessness amongst young people. Margaret MacMann. The minister will be aware that family breakdowns, addiction issues and mental health problems are most commonly behind youth homelessness. There is also an employability challenge for young homeless people as they are perceived. There is a perceived stigma attached to being homeless. Can the minister outline what housing advice, information and support is being provided to those young people, particularly those who have been in care to ensure that their complex needs are being made? In addition, what steps are the Scottish Government taking to improve the significant obstacles to employment, training and education that young homeless people face? Margaret MacMann. I think that Siobhan MacMann outlines very well some of the difficulties that young homeless people are faced with. The Scottish Government's purpose of the housing options approach is to look at the individual, the person-centred approach, to look at all the circumstances around homelessness and to prevent them from being homeless. That includes providing support and a range of issues that are referred to, for example, addiction services, providing money by support and sometimes in tenancy support within their new tenancy. All of that is provided. There is a duty in local authorities, a statutory duty to provide support services and advice services to certain homeless people and young people who certainly come into that category. In terms of young care leavers, we have strengthened the young persons bill to ensure that they can continue to get services and aftercare services up to age 26. We are also working very hard—the homeless teams are working very hard—in local authority areas to ensure that young people have a smooth transition moving from care to settled accommodation. It should be a planned process through the housing options approach, and young people leaving care should not have to make a homeless application. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle poverty in the Highlands and Islands. In reply to Christina McKelvie, I outlined the national approach that we are taking to tackling poverty. However, the challenges of living in rural areas are well understood. Increased travelling and fuel costs and access to digital services can often have a greater impact in rural areas such as the Highlands and Islands. We are working with others on research to share our understanding on how we can better target support to the rural areas of greatest need. In response to the Rural Scotland in Focus report 2014, we are also refining social economic index tools that will better measure poverty and disadvantage across a rural area. That will help us to better target support to the rural areas of greatest need. Rhoda Grant, I thank the minister for that response. She will be aware of the incredible 139 per cent increase in claims to the Scottish welfare fund in Highland last year. She will also be aware that the cost of buying basics is much higher in rural areas, including heating fuel costs that she mentioned. That means that fuel poverty is much higher in off-gas grid areas. Will she reinstate targeted fuel poverty funding and ensure that that assistance is available off-gas grid? In terms of the Scottish Government heaps projects to tackle fuel poverty, that was based on areas of deprivation and rurality, as well as the numbers of people in fuel poverty. Rural areas did get extra funding last year for that. We recognise very much that there is a problem in off-gas grid areas, and we have made that case to the UK Government on more than one occasion. Fergus Ewing has also written to the UK Government about the price of fuel in the rural areas and asked that that be looked at as well. I wrote to Ed Davie to increase the warm homes discount and to ensure that it is paid out of central funds and to consider how it impacts in rural areas. While it is not going to increase the warm homes discount and the new scheme for that, it has certainly taken on board that rural areas are a greater problem and the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum sits on that working group. The 2p per unit electricity surcharge in the Highlands and Islands contributes a fair bit to poverty in my constituency. Will the minister be responding to my energy survey that showed that 95 per cent rejected the 2p surcharge and that nearly 99 per cent of the 1,700 replies are received backed public ownership of electricity production and supply? As I said in my previous answer, the Government is concerned about the level of the energy bills throughout the country, but especially in the north of Scotland. Fergus Ewing has raised the issue of the high electricity bills and charges with the chief executive of off-gem directly and has written to the secretary of state for energy and climate change. He has highlighted our concerns about the impact of the current charging arrangements and the apparent slow progress in terms of off-gem's further investigation into the matter. We will continue to press for a timely and effective solution. Thank you to ask the Scottish Government how it will support and develop the third sector across the south Scotland region. The Scottish Government recognises the critical role that the third sector plays in addressing issues of inequality and the needs of disadvantaged communities and is committed to supporting the sector across Scotland, including the south of Scotland region. The 2015-16 Scottish Government budget will enable us to continue to significantly invest in the third sector as a key social partner, maintaining funding of £24.5 million towards direct support of the third sector. I thank the cabinet secretary for his response. He may be aware that funding difficulties encountered by action on hearing loss Scotland has meant that the excellent here to help initiative is coming to an end in March across Ayrshire and Arran and the Borders. We also know that service users potentially face isolation without the support of here to help. As we move towards integrating health and social care, does the cabinet secretary agree that health boards need to look at their services to ensure that best use is made of the extra reach and resource that the third sector, such as action on hearing loss Scotland, provides in supporting people with hearing loss in their communities? Obviously, health boards and the new partnerships need to take care of the priorities. Clearly, assisting people with hearing difficulties has got to be a priority. Although I gently say that, if his colleague Danny Alexander hadn't sliced the Scottish budget to the extent he has done by 10 per cent in the resource budget, we would have far more money to help the third sector, not just in the south of Scotland but throughout the whole country. To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to help to bring empty properties back into use as housing. We are bringing empty properties back into use through support of the shelter-led Scottish Empty Homes partnership. The 4.5 million Empty Homes loan fund and other funding programmes Scotland's network of Empty Homes officers have reported that over 500 Empty Homes will have been brought back into use in 2014-15, and that is up to 2708 in 2013-14. We have recently extended the partnership for a further three years and at the end of which we expect 1,200 homes per annum to be brought back into use. We are also finalising details of a new £4 million town centre Empty Homes fund to provide grant and loan funding to increase the supply of housing. That will focus on both problem empty homes, which causes a blight on their community and on conversion of empty commercial spaces into residential accommodation. I thank the minister for that answer. She will know that there are significant rural housing pressures that can indicate what action has been taken to bring empty properties back into use in rural areas. I can say to the member that action has been taken across Scotland to bring Empty Homes back into use. I saw a great example first hand in a rural town of Cirmure, where the Empty Homes loan fund helped to turn a disused church hall into nine units of affordable housing. There are further Empty Homes loan fund projects in rural areas, and the town centre housing fund will also welcome bids from rural towns. We now have to move to a portfolio of fair work skills and training, question 1, Alison McInnes. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve access to modern apprenticeships for disabled young people. The Commission for Developing Scotland's Young Workforce recognised the need for more action to support young disabled people and made specific recommendations towards achieving that. In response, developing the Young Workforce Scotland's youth employment strategy sets out the framework for how we intend to tackle the issue. For example, Skills Development Scotland is working with Bernardo's employ and training providers to increase take-up of modern apprenticeships by disabled young people. Skills Development Scotland has also met with BC resources for inclusiveness in technology and education and with Capability Scotland to discuss ways in which the accessibility of their My World of Work web service can be improved to ensure that it is accessible to all customers. I would note that, with less than 0.5 per cent of modern apprenticeships secured by disabled people, we have a long way to go. The Commission that the minister mentioned highlighted that the learning journeys of young disabled people are often disjointed and can take a long time to complete. It concluded that funding levels and funding rules should be adjusted to give them the best possible chance of succeeding. Will the minister update us on what adjustments have now been made to those funding levels and funding rules? I would say to the member that the specific recommendations incorporated in the refresh youth employment strategy are being actively worked upon. It may interest the member to note that there are a number of funding streams, so some £3 million has been allocated directly in response to the recommendations of the Developing Scotland Young Workforce to address wider underrepresentation across our employability programmes. The Scottish Government has also provided £2 million for the targeted employer recruitment incentive to facilitate transitions to sustainable employment. The result is, of course, the community jobs fund, which the Scottish Government delivers in partnership with the SCVO, which creates targeted opportunities for those who face additional barriers to employment, including those with a disability. I would say to the member that, of course, there is always more that can be done if the Scottish Government is determined to do all that we can to improve access on the part of disabled people to apprenticeships and, therefore, to the world of work. Ministers outline the Scottish Government's plans to tackle underrepresentation on the modern apprenticeship programme, but does she agree that what disabled people crucially need is adequate money to live on in the first place and, therefore, continuous welfare cuts from successive UK Governments are holding back disabled people completely? I would say to the member that it is clear, and as a former member of the Parliament's welfare reform committee, that the UK Government's changes to the welfare system are continuing to cause hardship for a significant number of people in Scotland with disabled people suffering disproportionately. That is unacceptable, Presiding Officer, and whilst the Scottish Government will continue to do what it can to help those most affected, it is clear that whatever the exact nature of the powers that may come to this Parliament, it will come with a 20 per cent cut across the board imposed by Westminster. Sadly, Presiding Officer, for the Westminster party, spending £100 billion on nuclear weapons takes precedence over providing a safety net to some of the most vulnerable people in our country. Thank you very much. Question 2, Mary Fee. Thank you to ask the Scottish Government how it will roll out the work programme once it is devolved. Following the publication of the UK Government's command paper, we are taking forward discussions with the UK Government through the joint ministerial group on welfare, on the devolution of the work programme and the other employment services that is currently contracted by the DWP. Meaningful devolution of those services could indeed provide an opportunity to offer far greater support into work for the unemployed and especially those who face the greatest barriers to work in Scotland. Once we have greater clarity from the UK Government on the details of its legislative proposals, we will engage with colleagues across the chamber in civic society to ensure that we maximise the opportunity that is afforded within our future services. Mary Fee. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. As the cabinet secretary will know, many companies are desperately looking for young people to work in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics sectors. Can the cabinet secretary tell me how the work programme can be used to boost opportunities within STEM? With the greatest respect to the member, we do not yet know what will be available to us within the work programme and the devolution thereof. The things that she is discussing will be a matter for us to consider once we are aware of exactly what is going to be available. At present, it looks as though what is proposed will only be in terms of the longer-term unemployed those over a year. There are some restrictions in terms of the disabled as well. Until we are actually aware of what we are going to be able to do in terms of powers, it is very difficult to answer specific questions. However, I have given a commitment to come back to the chamber once we know the detail and to engage with people on specific aspects. John Mason. I wonder if we can have any guidance as to what scope the Scottish Government has to go down a different route from Westminster, given that the work programme contracts, as I understand it, have been extended, despite the Smith commission's recommendations? In some senses, my answer to the member is similar to the answer that I have given to Mary Fee. It looks as though there may be some scope to redesign services for the long-term unemployed in Scotland, which would better align future delivery with the Government's policy objectives. However, limitations do, as we understand at present, exist primarily conditionality and sanctions, which will remain reserved to the UK Government. The UK Government command paper, for example, limits the devolution of contracted services to those lasting over a year, which appears to unduly restrict the further devolution of any services. We continue to discuss the position on the work programme extension in Scotland through the joint ministerial welfare group. We will press for a resolution that meets the needs of the unemployed in Scotland and does deliver the spirit and letter of Smith. However, it is a little premature for me to be able to go into the detail that members undoubtedly want to know. Question 3, in the name of Jamie McGregor, has not been lodged satisfactory explanation, has been provided. Question 4, Mark Griffin. To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to establish a future jobs fund for Scotland. The Government has already invested in a wide range of employment initiatives that are available from day 1 of unemployment and are directly helping to move our young people into sustainable employment opportunities. Through Youth Employment Scotland fund, we are providing support in partnership with local authorities to move 10,000 young people into sustainable employment. Through our Community Jobs Scotland programme, we have supported over 5,000 young people into job training placements in the third sector. As the chamber is aware, we also recently published the developing the Young Workforce Scotland's Youth Employment Strategy, which presented our refreshed Youth Employment Strategy. Given all of that work, there are no current plans to establish another jobs fund in Scotland. Mark Griffin. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I would ask if she is aware of North Archer Council's youth investment scheme, where the council has invested £7.5 million over the past three years to secure 5,000 jobs for young people in my region. Does the Scottish Government have any plans to investigate the success of North Archer Council's scheme and have any plans to roll out across Scotland? I would always want to investigate any schemes that are brought to my attention, because it is important if we see successful schemes, and by the sound of it, it may very well be that we consider whether lessons can be learned in other areas. Of course, that is a decision that local authorities can take. Other local authorities are equally able to look at the success of that scheme and consider it for their own areas, as well as the Government is looking at it. However, I will engage with the member on the specifics of that, if he wishes to discuss it further. To ask the Scottish Government for progress that it is making on implementing the recommendations of the commission for developing Scotland's young workforce. We are making good progress against the milestone set out in our implementation plan, developing the young workforce Scotland's youth employment strategy, which was published in December 2014, in which has already been the subject of some of my responses. I am particularly looking forward to the inaugural meeting of the national advisory group tomorrow, which I shall chair jointly with Councillor Douglas Chapman, COSLA spokesperson for education, children and young people, and where we will discuss progress. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The commission recommends that the Scottish Government work with its proposed new apprenticeship supervisory board to ring-fence a proportion of all modern apprenticeship starts for STEM frameworks. It also recommends that this proportion should be significant and above the current level, and that STEM apprenticeships should be actively promoted to employers and young people. Given that the oil and gas sector is facing a significant level of retirement among its workforce, what discussions have taken place with the industry to plan for future workforce needs, and how many STEM apprenticeships does the Scottish Government envisage going forward? The delivery of apprenticeships in Scotland requires a partnership to take place between employers, colleges and schools. STEM engineering apprenticeships and IT apprenticeships are all something to which we afford a great deal of priority. As the member is aware, there are a great many conversations taking place at the moment in respect of the situation in the north-east of Scotland. It is important that all employers, including those in areas such as the north-east, engage actively in the work that we are doing, because apprenticeships require employers to take on the apprenticeships but also employers to continue to offer jobs. The specifics of the regional difficulties that can arise, such as have arisen in the north-east, will also be addressed through our invest in young people groups. At some point in the near future, I hope that we will be discussing a regional one in respect of the north-east of Scotland, and that will be a primary area of discussion there. To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages engineering apprenticeships. Through Skills Development Scotland, we have exceeded our ambitious target to deliver over 25,000 modern apprenticeship starts each year, with 77,402 new opportunities delivered over the past three years. The number of apprentices starting engineering frameworks has gradually increased in recent years. There are almost 500 more engineering apprentice starts in 2013-14 than in 2010-11. In August 2014, Skills Development Scotland published the Skills Investment Plan for the engineering and advanced manufacturing sector. Developed in partnership with industry, the Skills Investment Plan provides a necessary blueprint for addressing skills supply issues within the sector, including a specific action to better meet employer demand through the promotion of modern apprenticeships in engineering. May I thank the minister for that answer, which I will have to read very closely, because there was so much in there. I ask whether the minister is aware of the excellent work of East Kilbride group training association and that, recently, the first two apprentices in sign making ever trained in Scotland entirely through the good work of the training association and the respective employers received their certificates? I ask that she and perhaps the cabinet secretary to visit East Kilbride group training association during apprenticeship week to see the innovative work that is carried out there. On the extended offer of a visit, I am always very happy to visit any examples of local good practice, whether it is during apprenticeship week or not would depend upon my existing dairy commitments, but I will ask my office to be in touch with the member. I would like to take this opportunity. I did see the member's early day motion to offer my congratulations to those young apprentices who have completed their sign making apprenticeship, and I wish them the very best for their future careers. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of private training providers such as East Kilbride group training association in supporting the Government's ambitions for the modern apprenticeship programme and, indeed, the ambitions of our young people. The earlier target that we have already exceeded that I referred to is not where we are going to sit, because we have set a further more ambitious target of 30,000 modern apprenticeship starts by 2020. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the Glasgow curriculum and estates plans propose transfer of activity to the city centre, does not have a detrimental effect on the training needs of people from deprived communities in Maryhill and Springburn? The Glasgow Colleges regional board is responsible for planning college provision that meets the needs of learners and employers. It is a legal duty to exercise its functions with a view to improving the economic and social wellbeing of the city. We understand that the Glasgow curriculum plan proposes a 2.5 per cent increase in activity in community locations, including access level courses, supporting more students who live in the most deprived areas, those with low or no qualifications and those furthest from the labour market. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Indeed, the information about the access courses is very welcome indeed. However, a great deal of uncertainty has been caused by a lack of clarity in that particular plan, as it suggests that some specialties or some skills and training opportunities will not be available in the local communities where they are most needed. I would be grateful if the cabinet secretary was able to reassure me that that unwanted scenario will not, in fact, transpire. The colleges in Glasgow have carried out an extensive review of the region's curriculum offer. A wide range of stakeholders have already been consulted on the plan, and the regional board has endorsed the direction of travel. It is an ambitious plan that recognises the collective resources available in Glasgow, but the aim is not for the transfer of activity to take place until August 2015. There is a huge opportunity for college education in Glasgow to be the jewel in the crown, and it is important that the many positives for learners and employers are not overshadowed by difficult questions, such as being raised quite rightly by the member. However, overall, colleges have always delivered very strongly for deprived communities in Scotland, so I am hoping to be able to reassure the member that that will continue to be the case in Glasgow. Students from deprived areas benefit from free full-time education and record bursary support. The results for colleges speak for themselves. Two thirds of those from the 20 per cent most deprived areas study for recognised qualifications at college successfully completed their course up on 2012-13. The latest figures show that 26.6 per cent of students come from the 20 per cent most deprived areas. That is the backdrop against which the particular plan that the member is talking about will be set. I would hope that fairness will always be a major consideration, regardless of what aspect of the roll-out that we are talking about. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote the IT industry as a career choice. An underpinning theme of the ICT and digital technology skills investment plan, which was published in March 2014, is to raise the profile of careers in the IT sector. To help achieve that, Skills Development Scotland is working in partnership with the industry on a multi-channel marketing campaign aimed at highlighting the opportunities available through a career in IT. The campaign will begin in spring 2015 and will complement the wider careers information advice and guidance that is already available through my world of work. I hope that that answer is also of interest to Nanette Milne. Cabinet Secretary, you may be aware of an event that was hosted last week by Oracle Academy, entitled Future Job Framework, which has presented from the Oracle Academy a new college, Lanarkshire, in my region, on their joint working. Will the cabinet secretary agree that this is an excellent example of the IT industry engaging with local colleges and in so doing expanding the knowledge and opportunities for IT in Scotland? I can agree with the member. This type of collaborative working is a step in the right direction in terms of ensuring that those entering the labour market are equipped with the right knowledge and skills that such a fast-paced and dynamic sector requires. The Scottish funding council is currently supporting seven early adopter college regions to explore and develop senior phase vocational pathways. Focusing on STEM and sectors of regional importance, the activity will bridge the gap between school, college, university and employment for 15 to 18-year-olds. The pilot projects from Skills Development Scotland will begin to improve representation and will identify best practice that can be shared and replicated. It is of interest that one of those pilots is indeed the partnership project in West Lothian to encourage women into STEM subjects. To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the agency and contract staff at employees enjoy fair terms and conditions. Agency staff are not directly employed by the Scottish Government. The agency staff's suppliers are responsible for pay and other terms and conditions of service. Scottish Government works with them, however, throughout the contract period to ensure that the very best terms of supply are available. Can the minister tell me how many people employed by the Scottish Government contractors and subcontractors and employed using so-called umbrella company contracts? It would be difficult to establish the exact figure, because the nature of those contracts means that people are set outside the normal employment patterns. I am aware that there is a member's debate this evening precisely on the subject. It has been a matter of some concern. I have a meeting in respect of the umbrella contract position this afternoon and another meeting that has been rescheduled with the Labour front bench spokesperson on this. All of the unfair or unacceptable uses of contracts such as the umbrella contracts are ones that we would wish to discourage where possible. That concludes support fully of questions. It is now time to move on to the next item of business, which is a debate on motion number 1, 2 to 2, 6, in the name of John Swinney, on the Budget Scotland number 4 bill.