 Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is portfolio questions. The portfolio on this occasion is education in skills. The invite member is wishing to ask a supplementary question to press the request to speak buttons. I'll put the answer in the chat function if they're during the relevant question and I call question number 1, Fulton MacGregor. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage local authorities to provide all primary school children with the opportunity to access swimming lessons. Felly, we have been working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland, Sports Scotland and Scottish Water to pilot bespoke interventions and approaches within local areas to provide opportunities for more children to become confident, safer and competent swimmers. I recognise the importance of ensuring that all children can have equal opportunities to access in swimming lessons, regarding their families, social or economic circumstances. Therefore, inclusion is central to our approach, and there will be a specific focus on targeting areas within quintile, one of the Scottish index of multiple deprivation. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. In a recent poll of over 1,000 people in Scotland, 93 per cent of respondents agreed that all children should learn to swim, and 90 per cent agreed that learning to swim is an important part of every child's education. What further action does the cabinet secretary think that local authorities, including my own and North Lancer Council, can take to ensure that every primary school pupil goes to secondary school, having had the opportunity to learn to swim? There are a number of local initiatives in place across Scotland that help to promote learning to swim, the Scottish swimming learn to swim framework that seeks to help children to become safe and competent swimmers by developing a consistent structure and set of quality standards for lesson providers is delivered by 37 partners in 162 pools across Scotland. The framework is already delivered by the main community learn to swim provider in 25 out of the 32 local authority areas, and it is also being provided in a further two local authority areas, albeit not by the main community learn to swim provider. Progress is being made within two further local authority areas towards delivering the framework during 2023. Active Schools also plays an important role in supporting local swimming clubs to link to schools. A couple of supplementaries that need to be brief, as well as the responses first, Brian Whittle. Thank you, Presiding Officer. According to Scottish Swimming, more than four in ten children leave primary school in Scotland unable to swim. We all know the impact, the positive impact on health, both physical and mental that swimming would have. We all understand about the inclusion about being able to swim, about learning away from the class and really important life skill. In fact, I would conclude this in the attainment gap. Councils are breaking point and being forced to consider the most extreme budget cuts, including cutting free swimming. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that it is an investment to ensure that our children can swim? What will the Scottish Government do to make sure that all children get that opportunity? Mr Whittle does raise an important point, not just about the physical benefits of this, but the mental health benefits as well. I pointed to my original answer to Fulton MacGregor about the importance that is being placed on learning to swim programmes to ensure that children from the most deprived communities in Scotland, in particular, have that ability to take swimming lessons. That is something to ensure that promoting equality of access that we are determined to continue to work on. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. My constituents of Spears Valley have been campaigning for better water safety in Scotland for the last seven years following the tragic death of their son, Christopher and the River Clyde, in 2016. Even competent swimmers can be vulnerable to injury or death in the water. Does the Scottish Government therefore agree that more engagement with local authorities is required more broadly to establish easy access to water safety training and education across Scotland? First of all, I thank the member for bringing up this important expansion to some of the original points. Water safety education and drowning prevention is exceptionally important. It is not just about confident swimmers but also, for example, about the dangers of cold water shock and so on. That is certainly something that is also included in the work that Water Safety Scotland and Education Scotland are continuing to do. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether current funding for colleges is fair when compared to the funding received by universities. The Scottish Government values the tertiary education sector with each part making a crucial and unique contribution to Scotland. The 2023-24 budget allocates nearly £2 billion to colleges and universities, which continues the trend in a year-in-year increase of the budget in cash terms. The called sector has been allocated an increased resource and capital budget of over £30 million for 2023-24, at a time when public finances are significantly constrained, which demonstrates our commitment to the sector. The called sector resource budget will be increased by 3.8 per cent compared to this financial year as compared to a 2.5 per cent uplift for universities. I agree that colleges and universities are very important. However, some universities, not all, are sitting on considerable reserves of money, while some colleges are really struggling and are trying to reach the hardest to reach people, both younger and older, in our communities. Does he not think that perhaps we should be rescuing the funding a little bit away from universities towards the colleges? I think that John Mason recognised at this point in his question. Of course, the position across universities is not entirely uniform, so we must make sure that we continue to support our universities to be sustainable. However, in essence, in relation to the core of his question, I would refer back to the figures that I have just given. We have given a £46 million resource uplift to the tertiary sector this year, and we have waith that towards colleges, £26 million for colleges and £20 million for universities. In respect of a direct shift of resource, if you look at the capital allocation, the increase for colleges is a direct result of us taking the decision to shift some of that resource from universities. We are undertaking what we can to make sure that we sustain the sector. A lot of interests and a number of supplementaries want to get them all in, but they will need to be brief as well as the responses first. The minister talks about additional funding for colleges, but he fails to mention that colleges need money to support additional rounds of voluntary severance or to potentially reduce the risk of compulsory severance. The situation is just that bad. Can the minister guarantee that any additional funding will be flexible and for the colleges to use up their discretion? If he cannot do that, will he tell the chamber what his spending priorities are for that funding? Clearly, pangos was referred to the additional resource. We are in a period where we need to look ahead and ensure that a college sector is responding to the priorities of our society and economy. That is what that resource is there to do. We are engaged in a wider discussion about how we can empower and provide more flexibilities more generally to the college sector so that it can continue to do that within the resource that has already been allocated to us. That is my key priority for college resource. College principals are acting on the basis today of a real-terms cut, because the £26 million in funding that the minister talks about is not available to them. They do not know what they are allowed to use it for. It is caught between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Government, and there is no clarity. Can the minister provide today clarity on what that money can be spent on? If what that money will be spent on is exactly as I have just said, to make sure that the college sector is able to continue to be responsive to the needs of their local communities, to the needs of our economy, to the needs of our society. The precise application is a matter of discussion with the SFC, and I expect it to be engaging fully with colleges in that regard. The minister is talking rubbish. That money is not available for colleges. The reality is that the Government, 20 months on, from when the funding council did its review about the future of the sector, still cannot decide what it wants from the sector. When is it going to make his mind up about the colleges? I do not even understand what the basis of that question was. I have set out quite clearly what our priorities are in relation to that resource. I will leave it up to others to decide who is talking rubbish. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the continuation of curriculum for excellence. Curriculum for excellence continues to help to equip to pupils with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed for learning, life and work, as demonstrated by the fact that a record high number of young people were in work training or further study after leaving school last year, more over the gap between school leavers from the most and least deprived areas in work training or further study is down to a record low. However, we are not complacent and every curriculum should seek to evolve and improve. That is why we are progressing an ambitious programme of educational reform, including taking forward curriculum-related recommendations made by the OECD, Professor Louise Hayward's work and also the national discussion. Thank you for that answer. New research conducted by the University of Stirling found that under the curriculum for excellence there has been a decrease in the number of national qualification entries in S4. Cabinet Secretary, the curriculum for excellence was meant to broaden the child's education, not narrow it. What has went wrong and are you concerned that a child's educational experiences have significantly narrowed? The curriculum for excellence is about broadening the experience within schools, so we will be giving the findings in the Stirling report very detailed consideration. It is also encouraging to see how many young people, for example, have taken advantage of the breadth of choice now available in the senior phase, such as in qualifications to do with skills for work or foundation apprenticeships. It is not simply just a matter of comparing the data relating to qualifications and the qualifications structures, but also the very widened opportunities that we have outside the SQA exams and, for example, as I say, on foundation apprenticeships. I welcome the update from the cabinet secretary. Just this week, new statistics have shown that attainment numbers for positive destinations are at a record high, with over 95 per cent of school leavers in education, employment or further training three months after leaving school. While that is testament to the hard work of our teachers and young people, does the cabinet secretary agree with me that those figures prove that this Government is delivering in education? As Karen Adam rightly points out, there was exceptionally good news in the statistics that came out around positive destinations earlier on this week, and she points to that in her question. I think that that is a testament to the exceptionally hard work of our teachers and their support staff and our young people, and it very much demonstrates the record and our continued focus on delivering for Scotland's children and young people through education. Question 4. Pauline McNeill, who also joins us remotely. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support Glasgow students in student rental accommodation in the light of the report that proposed rent increases by the University of Glasgow. Minister Jamie Hepburn. As a ton of institutions, universities are, of course, responsible for their own operational matters, including rental costs for student accommodation. However, I do expect them to take into account the current cost of living crisis and set rents accordingly. We are supporting students directly by providing £16.8 million in hardship funding for the current academic year to support higher education students experiencing financial hardship in addition to tuition fees and a range of living cost support, where they are currently exploring options to further support students for the 2023-24 academic year. Pauline McNeill. I thank the minister for that answer. He will be aware that a report by NUS Scotland on purpose-built student accommodation has been described as appalling by the president of NUS, Ellie Gormersol. The report found that an average of these rents has increased by 34% since 2018. A quarter of student samples in the report could not pay their full rent on more than one occasion. It has become a real problem and rent increases of 9.5% by the University of Glasgow seems incredibly harsh. I have understood the minister's answer. He is hinting very strongly that he also thinks that that is wrong. In view of that, does the minister believe that it is unfair to students and that private landlords, after all, can only increase up to 6%? That this Scottish Government should legislate to cap high-rents in student accommodation in the private sector and that a modern fair Scotland would do this? One of the things that we are undertaking right now is a review of purpose-built student accommodation to consider a range of questions and that type of area can be considered as part of that activity. Fundamentally, I very much agree that it is incumbent on every institution, whether they are a private provider or an academic institution themselves, to consider the position of students, to consider the affordability of rents, particularly in the context of the current cost of living crisis. In Scotland, 12 per cent of students have experienced homelessness and others have been forced to live in makeshift accommodation. At the beginning of this academic year, the University of Edinburgh converted a common room into makeshift accommodation to house students on a short-term basis. What guarantee will you give the first-year students who are rolling in our Scottish universities that they will be able to access student accommodation? Of course, the Scottish Government is not a direct provider of student accommodation. Again, I would expect that every institution in offering a place to a student to be taking very serious account of the ability of that person to accommodate themselves adequately for the coming year. It is incumbent on institutions to do that. To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Scottish budget 2023-2024 will have on education and skills provision in Glasgow. The Scottish Government's education and skills portfolio will provide over £4.2 billion in 2023-2024 to help to improve the life chances of our children, young people and learners of all ages and to support everyone who reaches their full potential. Through the local government settlement, we will provide Glasgow City Council with £1.4 billion of revenue to fund local services, and that is an important contribution that we can make to their delivery of education. As part of that settlement, Glasgow City Council will receive £16.5 million to at least maintain the number of teachers and support staff at current levels and continue to ensure that there are places available in the teacher induction scheme for probationer teachers who need them. Glasgow City Council is due to also receive over £7.5 million of strategic equity funding to support education recovery and tackle the poverty-delated attainment gap, and schools in Glasgow will receive over £23 million in pupil equity funding and powering Glasgow's headteachers to improve the educational outcomes and wellbeing of children affected by poverty in their schools. James Dornan, I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer as we approach Scottish apprenticeship week. Will she join me in recognising the crucial role these schemes play in providing positive destinations for young people in my constituency of Glasgow and across Glasgow and as we celebrate this year's achievements? Will she say what progress has been made in aligning work-based learning opportunities to support the important transition to net zero for future generations? Supporting Scottish apprenticeship weeks is, of course, very important. This is an annual celebration of the success of the Scottish apprenticeship scheme. Our priority is, of course, to ensure that apprenticeships are of high quality and lead to sustainable employment opportunities. We do, of course, know that the climate emergency will require enormous societal change and we are exploring how we can effectively integrate sustainability and green skills into the apprenticeships programme through climate emergency skills action plans. I will take a supplementary, but I will do so reminding members that this is a question about education and skills in Glasgow. I call Ross McCall. I was looking at it from the Scottish budget proposal because last week in the Education, Children and Young Persons Committee, the cabinet secretary revealed that £123 million would be taken from that education and skills budget for £23.24 to pay the teachers deal. I was just asking what will be cut from the education budget and maybe that might apply to Glasgow. Here we go, Presiding Officer, because day in, day out we get normally from Mr Kerr a point of order demanding that I do more to solve the teaching skills, the teaching pay dispute that we have. When we say that we are making progress, which I have to say to Ross McCall will require funding, then we are criticised for doing that. As the Scottish Conservatives keep demanding that we solve the pay dispute, they have to bear in mind the reality that that will cost money, it will have to come from somewhere within the Scottish education budget. If they start having a serious discussion about that, I will start taking the questions and their proposals on the teachers dispute more seriously. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of baby boxes— Excuse me, Mr Kerr, could you resume your seat, please? Mr Kerr, could I please ask you to refrain from shouting across the front benches and cabinet secretary nor to respond to those? To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of baby boxes that have been distributed since the scheme began. As it is hard, Scotland's baby box strongly signals our determination that every child, regardless of their circumstances, should get the best start in life. Our universal baby box programme, the only one in the UK, opened for registration on 15 June 2017 and delivery of baby boxes nationwide began on 15 August 2017 for all babies born and resident in Scotland. I am delighted to see that, since then, we have distributed a total of 250,560 baby boxes to families across Scotland, providing essential items for the first six months of a newborn's life. I thank the minister for that response and, of course, welcomed the news a few days ago that a quarter of a million baby boxes have now been delivered across Scotland. Can I ask her to outline what she sees as the benefits of ensuring that all expecting parents across Scotland have access to essentials for their newborn, regardless of their circumstances? Preparing for a baby's arrival can be one of the most exciting times for a family, but also one of the most nervous ones. Scotland's baby box supports parents by giving them access to essential items, as well as important practical information on how to support their new arrival. As well as practical support and items designed to have a positive impact on parent and child interaction, our baby box provides a financial saving of over £400 for families through the items provided, which, in the current cost of living crisis, is making a huge difference to families across Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent study by the University of Stirling published on 20 February 2023, which showed that the curriculum is narrowing under the curriculum for excellence with a reduction in the choice of school subjects. The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of this report, and the report states that, under curriculum for excellence, a growing proportion of school leavers are arriving at positive destinations within three months of leaving school, which suggests that the implementation of curriculum for excellence is having a positive effect on student outcomes. In terms of curriculum choice, the senior phase is designed as a three-year experience in order to offer greater personalisation and choice for learners. What matters most is the collection of qualifications, awards, skills and experiences that a young person leaves school with, not the subset of qualifications that they achieve in one year of the senior phase. So the record high number of young people who are in work, training or further study after leaving school last year is reflective of the success of curriculum for excellence, which continues to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed for learning, life and work. I am very grateful for that answer from the cabinet secretary. I thank her for her previous comment and her continued focus on education. The choice attainment and positive destinations report produced by Mark Priestley and Marinaras Shapira may have had some difficult reading. The research provides ample evidence that a great deal of curriculum making is driven by a need to fulfil external demands for the right kinds of data, particularly relating to attainment. Further on, it is a cause for concern that some curriculum making practices have negative consequences on subsequent attainment and transitions, predominantly affecting young people from less advantaged backgrounds. The social justice issues are particularly ironic and alarming given the Government's policy focus on closing the gap. Does the cabinet secretary agree that, by narrowing the choices available to our young people, we are doing a disservice in trying to close that poverty attainment gap? That is a very welcome report. I met Professor Policeley to discuss it recently and also the pleasure of attending a lecture that he gave on this in Glasgow. He does raise a number of challenging points, not just for the Government but for our agencies, for local authorities and so on, and we are taking that very seriously. One item that I will touch on presenting in some detail if I can is around data. It is important that we collect data, but as I have discussed with Professor Priestley, we are, I think, with him about gathering it for the right reasons. We collect data, for example, on why children are at school or not attending, for example, to ensure that we are providing the support to schools, to provide the support to the young people, to get them back in so that it is not something to hold them to account to but something to support them with. That is a very important point and there is a lot more that we can do in that within the national improvement framework and so on. I give that as an example of the work that we are taking forward very seriously with Professor Priestley, who, of course, sits in our Scottish Education Council for the work that he says. There was a quote that the member gave that there are also a number of positive quotes in the report for the sake of time. I will not go into them in detail, but I am sure that Mr Quickfield is well aware of them. I am very grateful. There is a number of supplementaries. I will try to get all of them in if I can, but they will need to be brief as well as the responses for Stephanie Callaghan. Thank you. I note the absolute data in the study around any impact in neurodivergent pupils. Does the minister agree with me that it is extremely important to collect this data to ensure that we could not understand the experiences of pupils with additional support needs? Absolutely. When we are talking about the collection of data, it is important to ensure that we are genuinely appreciating the needs of pupils with additional support needs. Stephanie Callaghan mentioned neurodivergent pupils. Of course, there are other pupils within that additional support needs category, and that is absolutely something that we are determined to do, for example, through the pupil's senses. First of all, I apologise, Deputy Presiding Officer, for my outburst earlier, but I had never thought that I would hear the day when a minister in any Parliament would say that they were not going to answer a question seriously, but they were not going to give the matter-in-hand serious attention. I think that that is contempt of this place, and so, Deputy Presiding Officer, let me make it clear as well, it is contempt of this place. Mr Kerr, do you have a question? I do have a question, Deputy Presiding Officer, but I want to make it clear that that sort of comment from Mr Kerr clearly is not acceptable. The University of Stirling report is indeed uncomfortable reading, ought to be very uncomfortable reading for this SNP Government, because, in essence, what the report says is that we are letting down pupils by narrowing their subject choice and limiting their opportunities in life. Therefore, I would say to the cabinet secretary, teachers are working hard. Our teachers are working as hard as they can, they cannot work miracles. The cabinet secretary and her predecessors have failed a whole generation of Scots. Shouldn't the cabinet secretary apologise for the SNP's appalling record in education? I think that I am more than happy to check the official record, but what I said was that I was not taking Mr Kerr seriously in some of his retorts on the teachers pay dispute. However, when he comes to discuss the reports that have been produced by Professor Priestley, quite rightly it should be challenging reading. That is the entire point of us having a reform process to ensure that we celebrate the successes that we have, something that Mr Kerr does not do, but also to challenge ourselves to improve something that Mr Kerr can also have a thought about. We know that delivering a robust curriculum is key to providing our young people with opportunities as they move forward in life. With that in mind, can I ask the cabinet secretary how the Scottish Government will continue to live on its commitments to raise attainment and substantially eliminate the poverty-related attainment gap? Well, our commitment to the substantial reduction and elimination of the poverty-related attainment gap stands strong, and that is exactly why we have over £1 billion worth off-expansure going in to the Scottish attainment challenge over this parliamentary term. As the results have shown, that is now showing a real improvement, particularly in our primary years. Thank you, cabinet secretary. Question 8 is not lodged, so that concludes portfolio questions. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business to allow the front benches to change.