 Before we move on to the next item of business, I invite members to join me in welcoming to the gallery her Excellency Maria Hatrdova, Ambassador of Czechia. The next item of business is consideration of business motion 8981 in the name of George Adam on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau on changes to this week's business and any member who wishes to speak against the motion should press their request to speak button now and I call on George Adam to move the motion. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and moved. No member has asked to speak against the motion, therefore the question is that motion 8981 be agreed. Are we all agreed? The motion is therefore agreed. The next item of business is topical questions and at question number one I call Pam Duncan-Glancy. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported comments made by the children and young people's commissioner Scotland that the Scottish Government has absolutely failed to deliver for children. I thank Bruce Adamson for all that he has done as children and young people's commissioner but I do not recognise the picture that he paints. This is a Government that introduced the game-changing Scottish child payment to tackle child poverty. We are delivering 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare to all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds. We have introduced free bus travel for all under 22s and we have the most generous provision of free school meal entitlement in any other part of the UK. We are doing all of this as a devolved Government within a fixed budget and despite that we will continue to make real progress in delivering for our children in what have been and continue to be very challenging times. Pam Duncan-Glancy, I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The Children's Commissioner is hugely respected and has long shown his personal and professional commitment to children's and young people's rights and for that I would like to thank him today. He is fundamentally correct in saying that the SNP Government has failed on its promises to children and young people. They have failed on the attainment gap, on free bikes, child poverty, counselling in schools, free school meals and the list goes on. So does the cabinet secretary accept that it is time for the Government to stop patting itself on the back and actually start working to improve the lives of children and young people in Scotland? I thank Pam Duncan-Glancy for her response. I, too, have great respect for Bruce Adamson. In fact, I sat on the appointment panel for his appointment back in 2017 when I was a backbencher. The member will appreciate that I have been in post for six weeks now. However, I would certainly welcome an opportunity to discuss those matters with the outgoing Children's Commissioner, who I understand will deem it off us from tomorrow. I have asked to meet him on the points that he has raised in the press. Fundamentally, the role of the Children's Commissioner is about improving the lives of our young people. I very much look forward to working constructively with the new Children's Commissioner, Nicola Cline, when she takes up post later this year. I have to refute some of the suggestions that Ms Duncan-Glancy has made this afternoon, Presiding Officer. However, I also think that it is important that we have context in this debate, because the latest poverty statistics, for example, were published in March so that Scottish child poverty rates remain 6 per cent lower than in other parts of the UK, 24 per cent compared to 30 per cent in 29, 22 per cent, 31 per cent in England, 28 per cent in Wales and 22 per cent in Northern Ireland respectively. Those statistics alone cover the period in which the pandemic was having a significant economic impact, but they also show the devastating impact of the UK Government's decade of austerity and its welfare cuts for many Scottish families. I think that I heard a member from the Conservatives bend to say for heaven's sake. I was listening very intently to the Children's Commissioner in his interview. Briefly, Cabinet Secretary, please. He mentioned Philip Alston, the UN's commissioner, talking about political choices. It was, of course, the UN's special rapporteur that spoke about the limits of devolution in relation to mitigating Westminster austerity. Indeed, context does matter. Whilst the Cabinet Secretary has been imposed for six weeks, we have had an SNP Government here for 16 years. The commissioner has clearly struck a nerve in his human rights defending. So, would the cabinet secretary agree that avoiding responsibility for his own shortcomings is why this Government has delayed the UNCRC and refused immediate commencement when the bill does come back, because that is exactly its purpose, to ensure that the Government is truly accountable for upholding children and young people's rights? Cabinet Secretary, I hate to say to Pam Duncan Glancy that the Scottish Government and the SNP are not responsible for Covid nor are they responsible for the impacts of the cost of living crisis. Ms Duncan Glancy may wish to look elsewhere in relation to the challenges that have been presented to this Government in challenging both of those external factors. If you listened to what the Children's Commissioner said, he acknowledged that there have been external factors that have placed a challenge. In relation to the UNCRC, there has not been prevarication. Fixing the bill is really complicated. We need to address, of course, the Supreme Court judgment. I think that I will go back to 2021 when this Parliament unanimously voted for that legislation. Of course, the UK Government challenged that legislation and we respect the outcome of the Supreme Court, but it is hugely important that we now go back to fix the legislation to ensure that we improve the rights of children and young people. We do so as quickly as possible. Yes, there is a responsibility on this Government and our officials continue to engage, but, of course, there is also a responsibility on the part of the UK Government. I hope that the member would respect that and acknowledge that. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Failure to close the poverty-related attainment gap, failure to amend the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, failure to close the pupil-to-teacher ratio for your teachers, your maths teachers, your English teachers, for your classroom assistants, for your primary, secondary and ASN schools, school buildings unsuitable for modern-day teaching, over 1,000 school buildings not inspecting the last 10 years, failure to reduce classroom sizes, violent attacks on our teachers, exodus of private and voluntary nursery staff, fewer childminders, 11,000 childminding places lost, not keeping the promise, entries in higher science subjects at 5-year low, entries in higher English and maths at 5-year-old low, teachers sidelined in education reforms, key recommendations on SQA reforms rejected, literacy and numeracy standards failing, curriculum for excellence and anemiticated failure. There is clearly not enough time to go through the list of failures by this SNP Government. Where are the laptops? Where are the bikes? This is a legacy of an SNP-run Scotland. My question is simply this. What mess created by the cabinet secretary's predecessors will the cabinet secretary focus on first? What a dispiriting question from Megan Galcher. I do not really know where to start. I spend a lot of my time speaking to teachers and those who work with our children and young people. I spent a lot of time on Friday and on Saturday speaking to the Secondary Teachers Association at their conference and at Nazwick's conference in Aberdeen. More broadly, it is really incumbent on all of us to remember that this is about our children and young people and not to politicise these issues as the member has sought to do. Reading out a list of policy areas does in no way help to improve children's lives in Scotland and talking about failure, in my view, is also not the place to start. Working constructively with Government is the way in which we can improve children's lives. That is why, of course, later this week I will be meeting with Ms Gallagher's colleague, I will be meeting with my Opposition counterpart in the Labour Party and in the Liberal Democrats and I will work across party boundaries on this issue, because it is absolutely important that we get this right for Scotland's children and young people. Alex Cole-Hamilton Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Another area that the Outgoing Children's Commission has successfully challenged this Government on was the age of criminal responsibility. In 2019, to much fanfare, the Government changed it from the lowest in the world at 8 to just 12. During the proceedings, you will remember, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child uplifted the de minimis position of 12 to 14. We didn't even get to the bottom, and there was still celebration. Is the cabinet secretary content that we are still behind Russia and China in terms of the age at which we hold children criminally responsible for their actions? When will her Government address that so that we at least meet the very floor of international expectation? I thank the member for his question. There may be split ministerial responsibility in relation to the justice secretary on this matter. I recall some of the debates at the time on the issue in relation to the legislation. I will be more than happy to write to him directly on the points that he has raised. There should be no doubt that Nicola Sturgeon has made huge progress putting in place the building blocks that are needed to end child poverty in Scotland. That is the assessment of child poverty action group director John Dickie. However, the Scottish Government is working with one hand tied behind its back. What analysis has the Scottish Government carried out into the impact of UK welfare reforms and how many children could be lifted out of poverty in Scotland if those key policies were reversed? I thank the member for her question. I go back to my response to Ms Duncan-Glancy. It is important that we have context about the powers that this Government has in this Parliament and the external factors that are undoubtedly impacting on our children and young people. Our own analysis that was published in April last year estimated that reversing key UK Government welfare changes that have taken place just since 2015 could lift an estimated 70,000 people out of poverty, including 30,000 children in Scotland of this year. That is why we have consistently urged the UK Government to match our ambitions in tackling child poverty head on through reversing, for example, its policies such as the benefit cap and the child cap on the bedroom tax and also introducing a similar game changing benefit such as our Scottish child payment. I look forward to working with the UK Government on those issues, recognising, of course, that responsibility for some of those powers rests in another Parliament. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce violence in schools in light of reports that three teachers and a 14-year-old pupil have been injured in a disturbance at a Renfisher school. I hope that the member will appreciate that. I cannot comment on the specifics of an on-going police investigation. However, no teacher or member of staff should suffer verbal or physical abuse at their place of work. It is for schools and local councils to respond to specific instances of challenging behaviour, notwithstanding. I have discussed this matter with the Association of Directors of Education only last week. I also chaired the Scottish advisory group on relationships and behaviour in schools on Thursday, with COSLA and with trade union representatives. We are currently gathering evidence that will help us better to understand behaviour in our schools at a national level. That is to our behaviour in Scottish schools research, which we will report by the end of this year. That will ensure future policy, guidance and support for our school staff, reflects the current challenges in our schools, but also what is working well. Finally, I have been engaging with our trade union partners on this issue most recently at the SSTA and, as what conferences held this weekend. Naturally, I will not comment on the specifics of this case. We wish those affected a speedy return to the classroom. However, here is what I can comment on. That is the sad reality that incidents like this are not unique. There have been 75,000 incidents of physical or verbal attacks by pupils against teachers and school staff of the last five years, and that does not include this year. Last year, there were nearly 20,000 such attacks, including 191 incidents, involving the potential carrying of a dangerous item or weapon. 64 were so serious that they were reported to the police. We have been raising this issue in this Parliament for years because the problem has been on the rise for years. Something has to change. My question, therefore, is this, what will change and when will it change? Mr Greene, for his question, he will recognise, given my professional experience before I was an MSP, that I take a keen interest in this matter. As I mentioned, in my initial response, it was raised at both teachers' conferences over the weekend. Fundamentally, we first of all need to recognise that Covid has changed the culture in our schools. Yes, that is changing relationships, it is changing behaviour. It is also changing things like attendance. There are broader changes happening in our school communities that we need to be cognisant of and we need to better support our school staff responding to those incidents when they become extreme. The second thing that I would say to Mr Greene is that we also need to provide context. In my experience as a teacher, those examples that he has cited today are few. Yes, they happen, but they are not the norm in terms of behaviour that happens in our schools. We need to be careful about how we characterise behaviour in our schools as politicians, because we do not want to send a message that is indifferent to the reality in our classrooms up and down the country. Teachers, on a daily basis, are equipped with the necessary skills and expertise to diffuse challenging situations as and when they happen in front of them. The third thing that I would say in response is to remember when we are talking about specific incidents—to be mindful, we are talking about the impacts on staff, we are also talking about the impacts on our children and our young people, and as a teacher I always think about that in relation to responding to incidents. We just need to be careful as politicians not to use specific examples to form policy. That is why, in my initial response to the member, I talked about the national evidence base. The last time that evidence was gathered was in 2016. It has not been updated as a result of the pandemic. I asked a number of weeks ago now for an update on that. I am not able to get access to the data until autumn of this year, but at that time I will share with Parliament the updated national picture in relation to behaviour in our schools. Jamie Greene I mean the problem with that response is with respect to the cabinet secretary. 75,000 is not few incidents. This is not a unique or isolated incident. It is in the tens of thousands. If you do not believe me, listen to the EIS representing a body of teachers. Their former president Heather Hughes said that violent incidents are happening more and more in our schools because the young people and teachers are not getting the support they need. Nothing to do with Covid whatsoever. She said that a year ago. The reality is that teachers are at their wits end. They should not be afraid to go to work in the morning. I agree that it is other pupils and young people who have to bear the brunt of this disruption to their learning and their wider school experience. I am afraid to say that the cabinet secretary is one of many education ministers. We have had promising action on this. Saying that it is just a matter for individual schools or councils simply does not wash any more. This is a national problem that requires a national solution. When will we see a comprehensive plan from this Government to deal with rising violence in our schools? I thank the member for his question. He cites evidence from the EIS. Of course, I am formally a member of the EIS. I recognise their views on the subject. I have spoken to the EIS on this matter already. If the member has listened to any of the interviews that I have given or some of my comments in relation to culture in our schools, he will know that this issue is really at the forefront of my mind in recognising how Government can respond. However, I suppose that my point to the member is that local authorities have a statutory responsibility at local level to deliver education in our schools. Therefore, they too have a responsibility in responding to extreme events. It is really important that when extreme events occur, and I accept that they do occur, although I would say that they are not the norm in my experience, but I accept that they do occur in our schools, that local authorities support their staff and support their young people in responding to those events. That is what I am working with COSLA on. I outlined in my initial response to the member the action that I am taking with COSLA, the action that I am taking in relation to the Sagrabus group, the action in relation to the behaviour in Scottish schools. I hear Mr Kerr heckling from a sedentary position. I have to say that he probably would not be able to do that in my classroom, but nonetheless I have outlined my plan to the member. I was going to go on to talk about promoting positive behaviour, so I looked to the Conservative benches with some hope and encouragement that they too might respond to that call, but more seriously there is a call to action in relation to Government, but also my point to the teaching unions this weekend, which was a call to the teaching workforce to tell me what they think is going to work in our schools. I do not claim to have all the answers in this as Cabinet Secretary, nor as a former teacher. I think that the teaching workforce knows exactly what they need in relation to the support and guidance that we provide them in schools. Yes, there is a level of that that we can provide at national level, but actually our local authority partners will be key to tackling this. It is right that the local authorities have a responsibility on this, but the interpretation of violent incidents varies across the whole of Scotland. That means bringing together these statistics is almost impossible, and that responsibility surely rests with the Government. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states that employers must carry out risk assessments to protect employees from exposure to reasonably foreseeable violence. So can the Cabinet Secretary say what discussions she has had with local authorities about improving these violent risk assessments so that she can compare like with like, and what discussions has she had about providing resources to support the mental health provisions for students at which mental health challenges lie at the base of a significant number of these conflicts that occur within school? As I alluded to in my response to Mr Greene, I already met with COSLA on this matter to talk about their role. I met most recently with them only last week as part of the Sagrobus wider behaviour group. They co-chair that group with the Government, and I have asked that group to come back with recommendations in relation to the action that we can take. The data that I alluded to in my response to Mr Greene will not be forthcoming until autumn. That is because of the data sets that our researchers have used, unfortunately. However, I accept the need for the Government to act, but the Government needs to act in partnership with our local authorities. More broadly, the member's point is an important one. Of course, in general, in terms of the points that he makes around mental health and support for our young people, there is an issue there. Of course, we have provided funding in relation to secondary schools having access to counselling services in the range of £16 million. However, it is not just about specialists in our schools, it is also about our classroom teachers. It is also about our learning assistants and our behaviour support assistants, who are often paid much less than our classroom teachers. We need to recognise that that this is about a whole school response, a whole community response. Yes, that includes Government, but it also, as the member has alluded to, includes our local authority partners. That is why I am really keen to take this work forward with COSLA and our trade unions. Willie Rennie? I hope that the cabinet secretary has got this at the top of her priority list, because teachers and pupils are sick to the back teeth of how they are being treated in our schools. It is a huge problem. I think that it is causing massive issues with the management within our schools. My real concern is that the last cabinet secretary did not attend the advisory group back in December. The survey that she talked about will not be available until the autumn. I fear that the Government is not moving fast enough. There has been a mushrooming of cases since the pandemic. There has been a problem with mental health, the lack of resources, additional support needs. All of those issues should be at the top of her list. What can she say to reassure me that she fully understands the problem that exists in schools? I thank Mr Rennie for his question. He really does not need to tell me what teachers think. I spend most of my time, if I am not speaking to my political colleagues, speaking to my former friends and colleagues who work in education. They are very clear on telling me exactly what they think. I very much recognise the challenge here, as I alluded to in my response to Mr Greene. Of course, there is a wider national work. I think that it is really important that Mr Rennie previously raised a specific case in his constituency. We need to be careful as politicians not to look at the specifics, but to look at the national picture. What is it telling us? We do not yet have that date. We do not yet have that data because it has not been gathered since 2016, so I want to look at that data in more detail. The second point that I make is that the Sagrabas work is really fundamental to this endeavour. It will work with COSLA, but it will also work with our trade union partners. Certainly on Saturday and Friday, I know that there is a real encouragement from our trade union partners that they are part of the solution in identifying how we can better support our schools. I hope that that gives Mr Rennie a reassurance. I spent much of my time as Cabinet Secretary over the course of the past six weeks looking at that issue and trying to get that granularity that we do not yet have. However, it is important, as I say, that we do not look at the specifics necessarily of those extreme cases and that we instead look to support our local authority partners on the ground and help fundamentally to support those who work with our children and young people. So yes, teaching staff, but also learning support assistance, behaviour support assistance too.