To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the University of Dundee, in light of recent reports regarding its financial situation, senior management resignations and its failure to recruit enough Scottish students. (S6O-04088)

The University of Dundee wrote to me on 13 November to outline the current financial challenges that it is facing and, in broad terms, to outline the steps that are being taken to address that. As autonomous institutions, universities have a key role in mitigating financial pressures and external risks. However, both the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council will continue to support individual universities, such as the University of Dundee, in developing their own strategies to minimise any negative impacts on short, medium and long-term financial sustainability. The need to ensure that universities are on a sustainable trajectory is at the heart of our considerations to reform the post-school education system, so that the very significant investment that we are making delivers the best outcomes for learners, the economy and society.

The University of Dundee should not be in financial crisis. It generated a significant surplus in recent years and staff costs have fallen by 25 per cent since 2021. However, staff are now facing redundancies and the university has failed to fill its SFC-funded places for Scottish students. Given the public money that is rightly spent on higher education in Scotland, will the Minister undertake to investigate why jobs are threatened, why recruitment of Scottish students is failing and why restructuring is planned, and whether all of that, in the words of the students association, is “papering over management failures”?

I hope that the member will recognise that it is not for ministers to become directly involved in operational issues in individual institutions. It is the role of the SFC to engage in that regard. I understand, however, that the announcements to staff at the University of Dundee came out of the blue and have caused considerable upset. In my response to the university’s letter, I outlined my expectation that, at the very least, every effort was made to ensure that any redundancies were voluntary in nature. I hope that Maggie Chapman will welcome the uplift in university funding that was announced in yesterday’s budget, and that she will share my hope that that will help to alleviate the situation at the University of Dundee.

That concludes portfolio questions on education and skills. There will be a short pause before we move on to the next item of business, to allow front bench teams to change positions, should they wish to do so.