Scottish Government Debate: The Contributions of Colleges and Universities to Scotland’s Success

S5M-00431 Shirley-Anne Somerville That the Parliament welcomes the central contribution of colleges and universities to Scotland’s success; recognises that the provision of high quality learning is the bedrock of a fair and economically successful country; further recognises the wider contribution of colleges and universities to growing the economy through developing a skilled workforce and supporting business formation, growth, innovation and the translation of world-class research into social and economic good; agrees that the Scottish Government should implement the recommendations of the Commission on Widening Access; further agrees that student support for both further and higher education students should be reviewed; reaffirms the Scottish Government's commitment to free tuition as the basis for ensuring that education is based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay, and believes that all Scotland's young people should have access to a rich variety of high quality learning and training opportunities that prepare them for life and work. S5M-00431.1 Liz Smith As an amendment to motion S5M-00431 in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville (The Contributions of Colleges and Universities to Scotland’s Success), leave out from first "agrees" to end and insert "acknowledges the key recommendations raised by the Commission on Widening Access, which lay the foundations for the Scottish Government to work with schools, colleges and universities to deliver quality learning and training for all young people, and believes that, in view of the desire to widen access and to ensure that colleges and universities can maintain academic excellence and continue to meet global challenges, there is an urgent need to review both student support and higher education funding." S5M-00431.2 Iain Gray As an amendment to motion S5M-00431 in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville (The Contributions of Colleges and Universities to Scotland’s Success), leave out from "implement" to "Scottish Government's" and insert "immediately accept and implement all the recommendations of the Commission on Widening Access; further agrees that any review into student support from further (FE) and higher education (HE) should commit to at least reversing the cuts made to HE grants and bursaries for students from poorer families during the last parliamentary session and should introduce guaranteed levels of support for students in FE; calls on the Scottish Government to protect FE and HE budgets for the duration of the current parliamentary session; reaffirms the Parliament's".