 First item of business this afternoon is portfolio questions, and as ever in order to get as many people in as possible, short unsusynct questions and answers to match would be appreciated. Question number one is Claire Baker. Presiding Officer, this is my eighth question and is many weeks, and now we all know why. I'll take what might be the last opportunity for a while to ask the Cabinet Secretary whether it will provide an update on its progress in closing the educational attainment gap in the Mid-Scotlander 5 region. Fel iawn, tioch East Klimoyd ond yn gyffredinol i rai niwn y cwmiec am Lly bekommenol, ond hynny, hynny yn bwysig yn dda'r transgo thriving 所以, pen bühlwlaenol, gynnwyl traddygau ac yn mynd i dd influeniaid. Ond trair oherwydd右 yn rheoli hon a defnyddio frywyd yn ansiwnnigol i'r ffordd o dd Aug y gaf will Meet in the Gap, ac mae hwn yn gwybod yr unig o ddysgu strigfaith yn gerchodd ar gyfer ei defnyddio'r effeithig o ddysgu'r ddysgu'r defnyddio'r effeithig o gadoedd. Mae cyhoeddwn wedi eu cwmwy splwpwys y gaf ddiweddig yn ei gaf gyda'r llungell sy'n gwneud i'r Feirpaethedd Gwyrddiannaeth Cymreifolol a fyddaint'r £100 miliwn a l Lywodraeth Cymreifol. Itp taeth ddechrau ar ôl y ddysgu yefyd, felly y Gael, sefydol i gael i ddefnyddio'r The support set Spring announced plans on tackling inequality and providing more opportunities within Fife. It has specific proposals on addressing the educational attainment gap, and although six primary schools receive support from the attainment fund, that does not end up enough to meet the challenge. Will the cabinet secretary commit to fully considering the fairer Fife commission's report and work with Fife counsel to ensure that they have the resources to make the positive changes that the report is outlining? As the member rightly identifies, there will be six schools and five that will benefit from the attainment Scotland fund. Scottish Government is working very close with Fife and the attainment advisers with regard to the bids that have come from those schools in and around the improvement plans. The improvement plans that have come from Fife are indeed very interesting and it is a huge focus on parental engagement, which is good. I, of course, will look at the very specific proposals from Fife in relation to the very recent report with great interest. I am grateful to you. I thought that my name might just be lucky today. Could the cabinet secretary tell the chamber what criteria will be used to measure the progress made by the seven schools in Mid Scotland and Fife that are receiving money from the attainment Scotland fund over the next four years, and whether those criteria will be different from the other schools not receiving the financial assistance? There will be broad similarities, but, as you would expect, there will be differences in the criteria, given that the seven attainment challenge local authorities and the attainment challenge schools are all working on very individual bespoke improvement plans. There will be similarities, but there will, of course, be differences. During the cabinet secretary's answer to Clare Baker, she mentioned attainment advisers. Could she possibly give us an update on the situation with her attainment advisers nationally? The full team of 32 attainment advisers has now been identified and put in place with each local authority having a named adviser. The Scottish Government will provide an update in progress with Ayrshire Colleges Cymaric Campus project. The £53 million project is progressing well and is scheduled to be delivered on time and operational by summer 2016. Today, the project has created over 550 employment opportunities and eight apprenticeships. Does she agree that the level of investment in the new college campus will not only be a massive boost for students and staff, but for the town of Kilmarnock 2? Will she outline the impact that it can have on providing better opportunities for employment in the area? As I have already indicated to the member, the project so far has created hundreds of employment opportunities. Further to that, I understand that a number of training opportunities have been provided for those working on the project, with employees securing further qualifications in areas such as advanced health, safety, leadership and management. Once complete, the new campus will accommodate approximately 5,000 students in sector-leading facilities across the curriculum. It is also worth noting that, in terms of the benefits for the town of Kilmarnock, the project was awarded a brim excellent rating at the design stage. That is the highest award given under the scheme. To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its full analysis of the risk of office for national statistics reclassification for universities for the proposed higher education Governance Scotland bill. Mr Brown will recall at the Finance Committee's meeting on 16 September. In relation to the analysis conducted by the Scottish Government on this matter, he asked, can the committee please see some of that work? That was subsequently provided to committee in a letter from me dated 5 October. The report to the Education and Culture Committee from the Finance Committee dated 8 October, the Finance Committee recommended that the full analysis is published in advance of the Parliament being asked to vote on the bill at stage 1. As noted at the Education and Culture Committee on 10 November, the Scottish Government will write to both committees on this matter prior to the stage 1 debate in January. If all the analysis has been done, and I was told in September that it had been done months previously, what is the delay in publishing the full analysis? I say to Mr Brown that there is absolutely no delay in publishing the full analysis. The commitment that I have given to both committees is indeed compliant with the request that was made of me as Cabinet Secretary that that information would be published prior to stage 1. That indeed will happen. Mr Brown will also be aware that we have received lengthy and detailed correspondence from University Scotland, an important stakeholder, and that I also gave a commitment to the Education and Culture Committee to respond to that as well. There will be a broad range of matters that my officials will respond to committee on my behalf, encapsulating the analysis that we have already done, because central tour consideration throughout the development of the bill has been classification issues. However, we also have other matters to consider, further detailed matters raised by important stakeholders and members of the chamber to respond to them also. When the bill has been previously discussed and debated, the cabinet secretary has undertaken to amend the bill as brought forward in order to reduce the ons reclassification risk. Why will she provide us with some detail of exactly how she intends to do that? I would expect to be in a position to do that at the turn of the year as we progress with the next stage of the bill. It is important to stress that the Government's position is and remains that there is nothing in this bill that increases the risk of reclassification, but we are collegiate and intend to work in partnership with members across the chamber and indeed stakeholders to reassure them of any concerns that they have. To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that all children and young people requiring regular medication and medical assistance at school have these needs met. NHS boards are responsible for securing the medical inspection, the medical supervision and treatment of pupils in schools, and in practice local authorities help NHS boards to discharge these responsibilities. Guidance on the administration of medicines was published in 2001 to support NHS boards, local authorities and schools to develop policies on managing healthcare in schools. Is he aware that the current guidance to which he referred has been extensively ignored according to recent research from the Office of the Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People? Isn't it time that the right to essential medication and medical assistance in school was put on a statutory footing? Of course, the guidance in existence dates from 2001, and there is an acceptance that that guidance needs to be refreshed. There has been a group looking at this. I accept also that there has been some delay or that it has taken longer than anticipated for that group to reach its conclusions. However, it reconvened on 25 November with the plans for revised guidance to be issued, and the expectation that new guidance, which will be informed by a broad range of opinion and expert knowledge across the sector, will be in place ready for publication in the summer of next year. To ask the Scottish Government how it considers the name to person provision and the Children and Young People Scotland Act 2014 will assist families with children with autism. The name person will have a key role in supporting families with children with autism. As the single point of contact, the name person will be well placed to where necessary, provide direct advice and support to the child and family or help them to access other services. The name person was originally developed so families would not have to repeat their stories unnecessarily to professionals and ensure that there was better co-ordination across services to support the needs of their children. It is the kind of assistance that we know that families with children with autism need. The same principles, encouraging early intervention, working with children, young people and families and seeing a child's whole well being, underlie the Scottish strategy for autism, launched in November 2011. That is our framework for improving autism services, provision and access to those services across Scotland. As the minister is aware, Angus is one of several councils in Scotland to already operate a single point of contact scheme for parents. My experience earlier this year of listening to parents of autistic children proactively stole the virtues of this set-up was anything to go by, and it obviously finds favour with those who have direct experience of it. That being the case, who does she think we should be listening to on the name person issue? Parents who know what they are talking about are scaremongering Tories who have shamefully twisted this issue in pursuit of party political gain. Minister, could you pull your microphone round? We couldn't hear you earlier. Sorry, I apologise. I'm glad that the member has taken the chance to flag up the positive benefits of the name person and to relay to the Parliament that this message came from parents themselves. This policy was developed in response to what parents told us they needed, and I also know that Angus Council are to be applauded on their commitment to the implementation of getting it right for every child. In response to Mr Day's question whether I'll listen to parents he's met or the Tories, it will be the parents every time. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the learning environment for college students in the West Scotland region. Cabinet Secretary Angela Constance, please. The Scottish Funding Council has provided West College Scotland with £70,000 to help it develop a business case, outlining options for the Greenock campus. The college is also working on a broader estate strategy, which will include the Paisley campus. Neil Bibby. Although other areas might have had their fair share of capital funding for colleges, the West Scotland has not, there has been no significant investment in either the Paisley or Greenock campuses at West College Scotland for a number of years. I spoke to students at the college who believe new or refurbished buildings are badly needed and I know that the college has made it quite clear that they require additional investment in the estate. Given that and what the minister said earlier, will the minister give a commitment to consider the compelling case for more capital investment at West College Scotland? Of course, it is the funding council that gives consideration to these matters as opposed to ministers. I can say that the Scottish Government is committed to supporting all colleges, including those in the West Scotland region to invest in the restates. As I mentioned in my original answer, the funding council has been in discussion with West College Scotland and provided some funding £70,000 to help it to develop a business case outlining options for the Greenock campus. The college is also working on a broader estate strategy, which will include the Paisley campus. I am assured that Greenock and Paisley are given high priority by the funding council in their capital plans. Question 7, Clare Adamson. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support children in kinship care. The Scottish Government recognises the important and selfless role played by kinship carers in providing secure, stable and nurturing homes for children and young people when they are no longer able to live with their birth parents. We believe that kinship carers who take on this responsibility are providing a valuable service and should be supported in carrying out the role. That is why we have introduced new kinship care support provisions in the Children and Young People Act to support eligible kinship carers of non-looked-after children who hold a kinship care order. Those children are not in care, and by supporting families in this way, many children will avoid formal care completely. The new legislative provision bill on the existing provisions for looked-after children in kinship care set out in the looked-after children regulations 2009. In agreement with COSLA, we have invested £10.1 million and met our commitment to kinship care families by delivering parity of allowances with those in foster care. Our policies are delivering real benefits for some of Scotland's most vulnerable children and families. I thank the minister for her answer. The investment of £10.1 million is his most welcome, particularly in local authorities in my area of North South Lanarkshire and Falkirk councils, where families will see a real benefit. Can I ask the minister in light, especially of the roll-out of universal credit, if any of this fund will go to income maximisation for kinship carers? I can tell the member that, in addition to the points that I raised in her original question, we continue to fund Citizen Advice Scotland to provide support and welfare benefit checks to ensure that kinship carers are receiving all their entitled to. We have provided them also with extra funding to assist local authorities and kinship carers with the implementation of the revised allowances in the initial stages of the implementation of that new policy. In addition to supporting all kinship carers, we also fund the national advice and support service. We have also awarded via the strategic funding partnership grant finances to Mentor UK to deliver projects that help to break the intergenerational cycle of children becoming looked after and have poorer outcomes. It may be of note to Ms Adams that I met kinship carers from South Lanarkshire in my constituency. That group also included kinship carers from North Lanarkshire and Glasgow, where they are also finding ways in which they can support one another. I would certainly recommend that Clare Adams would visit that group because they are inspirational in what they do to provide security for those vulnerable children. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support looked after children. Outcomes are improving for looked after children in education and positive destinations on leaving school and in numbers adopted, but we absolutely need to accelerate the progress. That is why I launched the Scottish Government's looked after children and young people strategy at the improving outcomes for looked after children conference last week. The strategy builds on provisions in the children and young people act. Through that, the Scottish Government has increased support to kinship care families and families on the edge of care, increased the number of corporate parents and put Scotland's adoption register on a statutory basis. We have also enabled young people to remain in their care setting up to the age of 21 and extended support for care leavers. The strategy calls on the sector to build on that and accelerate progress. It sets out a range of actions that are clear and specific to support families early to prevent children becoming looked after, to help children have a safe, secure and nurturing permanent home and to make sure that every child receives the best possible care and support. The strategy has been welcomed by the sector who cares Scotland said that the Government has continued to listen to care experience. Young people and their views have been represented within the strategy. For the benefit of other members, the strategy is available on the Government website and copies are also available in SPICE. I thank the minister for that lengthy answer. The minister tell me, is there any more that could be done in regards to raising the attainment of looked after children? I thank the member for his question. We are starting to see attainment improving and the gap between looked after to school leavers and other school leavers narrowing. The proportion of looked after school leavers with at least one qualification at SQF level 5 or better has increased from 28 per cent in 2011-12 to 40 per cent in 2013-14. The proportion going into positive destinations nine months after leaving school has increased from 67 per cent in 2012-13 to 73 per cent in 2013-14. However, the most important thing that we can do to raise attainment of looked after children is to ensure that they are safe, secure, caring and people support them. Our looked after strategy sets out how we aim to do that. For example, through the Children and Young People Act, we have extended the age that young people can remain in their care setting. We know that young people who leave care aged 17 and 18 achieve far higher attainment than those who leave care aged 16. I hope that that gives and provides reassurance that, among all those policies and initiatives that we are doing, we are doing our best and working very hard to make sure that those children attain the same level as their non-looked after peers. Thank you. Before I call supplementaries, I have been asked to request that all members speak clearly into their microphones. Some members are having difficulty hearing this afternoon. In reference to the figures that have been referred to by the minister on educational outcomes for looked after school leavers, I am concerned by the fact that just 8 per cent of looked after children at home with parents are achieving at least one qualification at SCQF level 5 or better. I am indeed concerned, too, about the figure for looked after children in local authority accommodation, which is not much better at just 21 per cent. It compares to 84 per cent of all school leavers. I take on board what the minister has just said, but what additional steps will the Scottish Government take to address this really wide gap between looked after children and the rest of our country's school leavers? I absolutely share Kara Hilton's concerns. That is why the looked after after strategy that we published last week had a clear aspiration to do better by the children who are looked after at home. I would certainly recommend that Kara Hilton, because she expresses those—oh, she has the copy, they are good—but one of the things that we need to do, and one of the aims that we have is to provide a mentor and operate a national mentoring scheme to provide someone who is not paid to look after or to look out for the needs of that child, but who takes an interest in that child's life. We know ultimately that we can have processes and policies, but it is relationships that make a difference for those children. That is why we are shining a real spotlight about making sure that people do not park those children in those settings, but make sure that there is a meaning to having a child looked after at home, but absolutely bolstering their support by rolling out the national mentoring scheme. I am happy to continue that dialogue with Kara Hilton, who I recognise has an interest in that topic. Next week, we will move amendments to the education bill, which will place a duty on the inspection regime to look particularly at how schools are tackling the attainment gap for looked after children. Does the minister support that increased focus on looked after children by the school inspection regime, and will the Scottish Government support those amendments at the committee next week? Within our looked after children refresh strategy, it has been made very clear that we are going to strain every sinew to make sure that we do best by those children whom we have a corporate parenting responsibility for. By that, we will certainly look at any of those amendments that come our way, but certainly make no mistake. Those are our bairns. We have improved the corporate parenting responsibilities and increased the number of people who have a responsibility for those children and will take the cognisance of the points that Mark Griffin has made when they come. To ask the Scottish Government how its education directorate monitors the implementation of the educational aspects of the autism strategy. The education directorate monitors the implementation of the strategy through educational developments. The Scottish Government funded the autism toolbox website, which was launched on 29 April 2014. The toolbox provides a resource for education staff in schools. Under the additional support for learning act 2004, education authorities are required to identify, meet and keep under review the additional support needs of all their pupils and to tailor provision according to their individual circumstances. To help teachers and education support staff meet the needs of pupils with autism, the autism toolbox website identifies best practice for all education staff in schools to help to support pupils with autism. There is a concern among parents in my constituency that, although in theory the autism strategy is welcome, the practice is not always as good as it should be, can the minister give some comfort that the training aspect of the strategy is being monitored, recorded and assessed by the Government, and that the theory in that regard can be translated into front-line action? As I mentioned, Education Scotland monitors issues around the practice involving, I am sure, training. It takes seriously ensuring that this is not merely a strategy but is something that works on the ground. On the operation locally, I am very happy to hear from the member if she has any particular issues that she wishes to raise about that. Parents I met this week told me that the key problem for them is a lack of access to child mental health services. How will the minister address the fact that many children are simply not able to attend school at all because there is no educational support until a child has received diagnosis? That can take up to two years. I certainly laser closely with health colleagues around the issues for which some of the strategy's responsibility lies. I can certainly say that the Government is determined to ensure that everyone who needs access or referral to mental health specialists enjoys that, and we work with local authorities and with health boards to achieve that. Many thanks. Questions 10 and 11 have been withdrawn both with satisfactory explanations. I now turn to question 12. What discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the possible implementation of a new EU directive on the movement of non-EU students and researchers? The UK Government has not opted into that directive. The Scottish Government values the contribution that is made by non-EU students and researchers and will continue to press for an immigration system that meets Scotland's needs. He will be aware that the European Parliament informally approved the new directive very recently, but does he agree with me that the increased movement of non-EU students and researchers would benefit Scotland's higher and further education institutions and the interests of Scotland as a whole? I can fully agree with the member that the flow of international students clearly benefits Scotland. Of course, it is an issue that we have raised on numerous occasions with the UK Government with respect specifically to the post-study work visa. There is a pretty much universal, pretty much unanimous agreement with the Scottish Government and across the education sector that the UK Government is simply wrong in that matter. To ask the Scottish Government what implications are for Scottish universities of proposals in the UK Government's higher education green paper? We are considering the proposals and assessing the implications for the higher education sector in Scotland to ensure that there are no adverse consequences for our students or universities. As the UK proposal within the green paper includes establishing a new office for students for providers in England, how does this proposal impact on Scotland and does the Scottish Government have plans to replicate it? The green paper proposes that the office for students will take on the majority of HEFCE's responsibilities, including the running of the TEF. As part of the proposal, it suggests that it will open up the higher education sector in England to new providers by widening the range of providers with degree awarding powers. I have to say that the approach in Scotland is rather different to the proposed approach for England and changes in some respects being proposed for higher education policy in England have to be aware of because of the potential for a direct impact on Scotland. The Scottish Government, I would emphasise, does not support the marketisation of higher education and we firmly believe that access to higher education for all students should be based on the ability to learn rather than on the ability to pay. To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring and evaluation is carried out of the reforms to the sector following the 2012 report of the review of further education governance in Scotland? In addition to routine monitoring and evaluation of college delivery through outcomes agreement and education Scotland reviews, the Scottish Funding Council is currently carrying out two-year post-merger evaluations and those will be complete by next summer. I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer. The review indicated that the changes to the funding and the move to outcome-driven measures meant a fundamental change to the collection and auditing of data. Can the cabinet secretary update the Parliament on the development and implementation of the new national IT management information system proposed at the time of the new college's structure? The development of outcome agreements for the sector has shifted the focus to monitoring outcomes that are consistent with our reform priorities. Rather than introducing a new national management information system to support the regional college structure, which was recommended by Professor Griggs in his review of governance, the priority has been to integrate existing systems in regions where colleges have merged. The funding council will evaluate progress on systems integration as part of its forthcoming post-merger evaluations. Additionally, and in line with Audit Scotland's 2015 report, the funding council is also looking to improve how it reports colleges' progress against outcomes to support effective scrutiny of performance. The report mentioned by Chick Brody stated that the national harmonisation of pay and conditions of service would be completed by August 2014. Given that teachers are paid the same salary wherever they work in Scotland, why should lecturers throughout Scotland be paid over 5,000 pounds per annum more than lecturers in the Highlands and Islands? What is being done to address this disparity? Let me assure Mrs Scanlon by saying that the Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to national bargaining in our further education sector. However, we have always recognised that moving towards that approach was always going to be challenging, given the level of change that is required. For that reason, we consider this year to be a transitional year, where we expect a willingness on both sides to move things forward. Not everything can be achieved quickly or at once, but it is a process that this Government remains committed to. To ask the Scottish Government what resources its education directorate provides to ensure that appropriate educational opportunities are put in place for offenders at the time of their release to ensure effective rehabilitation. Scottish Prison Service has put in place a contract to deliver learning services across all public prisons. That is delivered by Fife College and New College Lanarkshire and includes onward referrals on requests for individuals who wish to continue their learning engagement in the post-liberation period throughout community-based learning services. Education Scotland continues to work closely with the Scottish Parliament to focus on improved community links for through care as part of a focus on improving those outcomes. I thank the minister for that response. I wonder if he can tell me what is being done to encourage the uptake of that service and whether there is any evidence of its improving outcomes. I can assure the member that there certainly is a great deal of active effort being undertaken to encourage uptake. SPS has also established a clear vision for their new through care support officers who will work directly with individuals to support them on the journey towards life in the community and ensuring that that life is a productive life in the community. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the present of NUS Scotland's evidence to the Education and Culture Committee that further education student support in Scotland is not fit for purpose. We have increased the student support budget by 29 per cent in real terms since 2006-07. Support is now at a record high of more than £105 million in college bursaries, childcare and discretionary funds. In 2016-17, we are removing the variance rule to ensure that all eligible students awarded a bursary are paid at the full rate. That addresses one of NUS Scotland's key concerns. Of course, we note the Education and Culture Committee's review of student support, and it makes sense to see the committee's conclusions before we decide on the next steps. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Every year colleges are underfunded for bursaries and the Government has to provide additional funds in year. Will the minister commit in this year's budget to fully fund FE student support right from the start? As the member may be aware, she represents the Lothian region that, over the Government's term of office and cash terms, the student support fund is available to, for example, Edinburgh College has increased by 66 per cent. In terms of West Lothian College, the cash terms increase over our terms of office is 112 per cent, so we always act to put the interest of students first and have made very serious commitments to student support in the FE sector. The member is right to acknowledge that every time around this year that we do an in-year redistribution process is on-going for this year. However, as with every other year, where there is a gap, the Government works very hard with Colleges Scotland and the Funding Council to plug that gap, and we will do so again in the way that we have done in the past. Looking forward to the future, we would recognise that some of the solutions that we have adopted to date are fine for now, but we want to address student support in the longer term and to ensure that it is more sustainable, and we will do that as part of the 2016-17 budget discussions. Could the cabinet secretary outline what outcomes the SNP Scottish Government has delivered for college students? Of course, the college reform programme has been of great benefit to students. We have seen, for example, the average hours of learning per student has increased by 59 per cent. 14,000 more students are successfully completing full-time courses that are leading to recognised qualifications. I firmly believe that our focus is on skills for learning and skills for work that meet the needs of the local economy. That is indeed the right approach. In our evidence, the President of the United States of Scotland also pointed out that the Government's extension of eligibility for EMA meant that some FE students would receive only £30 a week, whereas previously they would have received £90 a week in a bursary. Does the cabinet secretary agree that that is perverse and will she correct it? I am certainly taking that piece of evidence very seriously indeed. As we know, colleges at present have the discretion to offer educational maintenance allowance payment or the college bursary. I expect colleges to make the right decisions for every young person, particularly those that are parents themselves or estranged from their own parents or in receipt of welfare benefits. It is important to remember that the substantial majority of young people in college receive the higher bursary rate as opposed to the educational maintenance allowance, but I will nonetheless be looking at that carefully and will be taking all the evidence that is presented to the Education and Culture Committee's review of student support. We have always acted in the best interests of students, made improvements where we can, and nothing is going to change that for the future. We will continue to look for further improvements in partnership with the United States of Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support and develop the energy skills partnership and a shift to a low-carbon economy. Making the transition to a low-carbon economy remains a significant importance to the Scotland economy, and that has been reflected consistently in the Government's economic strategies. Specific funding levels for the energy skills partnership are, of course, a matter for the Scottish Funding Council. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, and I understand what those arrangements are. The energy skills partnership is indeed a bridge between the college sector, government and industry bodies working with key partners in renewables enterprise and skills development. In South Scotland, there is Dumfries and Galloway College and Air College and others that are developing adventurous courses in initial and on-the-job training. Will the Scottish Government make a commitment to ensure that there is an assessment of the impact of those courses and how they are helping to move forward with the new skills? I would certainly like to always see the Scottish Funding Council look at impact. The member is quite right to state that the energy skills partnership is a very important bridge between our economy and our education system. One example of that would be how SDS has supported the energy skills partnership to develop further wind turbine training hubs right across Scotland, including the development and delivery of wind turbine technician training at Forth Valley College, but the member makes good points. To ask the Scottish Government how standardised assessment will be used in classrooms. The new standardised assessments will provide a diagnostic child-level assessment focusing on aspects of literacy and numeracy. They will be used alongside other sources of evidence to inform the professional judgment of teachers. The practice has already taken place in classrooms. What information do teachers already have available in classrooms to enable them to identify low-achieving pupils? We have always been very clear that the national improvement framework is not about additional burden. It is about supporting a clear, consistent and robust picture of progress across schools in Scotland. To answer Mr Crawford's question directly, we know that standardised assessments are used in different forums in schools. Unlike many of the current tools, the new assessments will be aligned to the curriculum for excellence, making them more meaningful to learners, teachers and parents. We are working very closely with unions, local authorities, teachers and parents as we progress with this work. Thank you very much. That concludes questions this afternoon. Before we start the debate, I remind members that legal procedures