 Fy hoi dim i ymgwunol Gymraeg, iawn i ddechrau i'w dLAUGHING I that is, and of course I am required to remind members not to move around the chamber in a non-safe way. I am now looking for my pieces of paper, thank you very much, to get the script. So that social distancing measures are in place in the chamber across the Holywood campus, I ask that members take care to observe those measures including when enteringelu 헵awdd. Corenhaeg, r box Always na dwi'n meddwl gyda llawer i ddeu lltherscyng Machine Darbyn ddatblyg c Tyson.akhur y gwelio gyda rhywun o gy � ses y Ddechrau Gyda, i gynnyrch will begins a gyda cepic pan ers sefyddu i Da i Giarthon Dodd, I will point es i hynny Gall bydd y cyfan y ddisgwyl eich Mottheishwyr i nylland dr polers uwch chwaiton pobلفio ar cre Menu sfrifau iau, completed agol provisions пис ond beth gyda Elmstone. chac function by entering the letter R during the relevant question and again we will get through more questions and answers if we could have succinct questions and succinct answers please. Question number one, Lewis Smith. Thank you. To ask the Scottish Government what revenue it estimates it will receive from land and buildings transaction tax in 2021-22. Minister Tom Arthur. The Scottish Fiscal Commission is the independent body responsible for forecasting revenues for the fully devolved taxes. In Scotland's economic and fiscal forecasts, published on 28 January of this year, the SFC forecasts that the Scottish Government will receive £586 million in revenue for the land and building transaction tax in 2021-22. Lewis Smith. Could I thank the minister for that response? Would he agree, however, that for many young first-time buyers in areas of very high house prices, where there are many properties over the £250,000 rate at which the LBTT kicks in, this on top of other taxes that they are paying is quite prohibitive. Can I ask the Scottish Government if it has plans to introduce some regional schemes where there can be more targeted support for aspirational families, or at least plans that provide tangible support through mortgage assistance? I thank the member for her question. The Scottish Government provides support through the first-time buyer relief, which effectively raises the nil band from £145,000 to £175,000, which effectively means that 8 out of 10 of first buyers do not pay any tax. With regard to the regional scheme, I recognise that this is an area that the Conservative Party has some interest in. I would be hoping to receive more information on what Lewis Smith's proposals would be, but I would caution that LBTT is a national tax, and we would have to be cautious about introducing unnecessary complexity into the system during such a localised methodology. To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that money invested in the economic recovery by way of grants, loans and other funding will support fair work practices and climate obligations for any companies that receive such support. I add my welcome to Lorna Slater to Parliament and say to her that fair work is central to our economic recovery and renewal, and through fair work first we are applying fair work criteria to public sector grants, contracts and other funding wherever possible and where it is relevant to do so. We continue to consider how we can use all our levers to support a green recovery and expect those accessing financial support to publicly align with Scottish Government values, particularly those relating to our climate and environmental ambitions. Securing the full range of employment powers, we would enable the Scottish Government to fully implement policies that best meet Scotland's distinct needs, enabling us to create more good green jobs with fair work at their heart and a more prosperous Scotland. In order to support a green recovery, will the minister commit to ensuring that investment money, whether as grants, loans or other funding, will come with conditions to ensure that this money goes not only to businesses that support fair work, which I approve your support of, but also to support a sustainable economy? For example, only to go to companies that pay living wages, who do not use zero-hour contracts or tax havens and who have plans to achieve emissions that are in line with our national targets, as agreed by this Parliament? How would the minister follow up to ensure that any applicable conditions were being met? I generally agree with the principles outlined by Lorna Slater. Much of what she says relates to the fair work agenda that is being implemented by the Scottish Government at the moment. Indeed, as part of our first 100 days commitments, we are reviewing fair work first criteria to oppose, for instance, unfair, fire and rehire tactics and promote flexible and family-friendly working. We are also working with the Poverty Alliance in building on the living wage employer accreditation, which was referred to by the member. We can also introduce a living hour scheme for Scotland in the first 100 days of this new Government. I want to assure the member that we are exploring every possibility to ensure that our grants and support for businesses and organisations across Scotland are aligned with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament's values. I am indeed going to call Paul Sweeney for a supplementary question. Will the Government commit further to the question by Lorna Slater to making trade union recognition for large companies with more than 250 employees a precondition of applying for further Government support? In terms of the fair work agenda, those are issues that are already reflected in the principles that we promote as part of our grants and so on and so forth. The fair work first criteria has already been applied to £619.8 million worth of contracts awarded by the Scottish Government. Employers' relationships with trade unions and workers' voices are part of the fair work agenda. We are exploring further ways in which we can promote those principles. As a new minister in this portfolio, I am keen to make sure that we leave no stone unturned. To ask the Scottish Government what support it will make available to businesses in light of the continuation of the current Covid-19 restrictions. We recognise the impact that deviating from the route map has had on businesses across Scotland, perhaps more so in certain areas than others. That is precisely why we have provided additional financial support to those businesses in areas where it is necessary to, unfortunately, retain restrictions for an additional period. We will continue to prioritise business support as much as we can within our limited resources and we will continue to press the United Kingdom Government for additional funding that we have made available for businesses because there has not been additional consequentials for business support since the election. I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer and I know from speaking to many businesses in my own constituency that the support already made available by the Scottish Government has been an absolute lifeline. Although some restrictions remain in place, understandable concerns have been raised about the UK treasuries' failure to announce an extension to the furlough scheme, which is due to be scaled back from 1 July. Can the cabinet secretary provide reassurance that she is doing everything that she can to press the UK Government to extend the furlough scheme in order to give businesses in Scotland the financial support needed until our economy can fully reopen? I agree with Audrie Nicolle. We have consistently called for furlough funding to remain in place for as long as it is needed. We have been here before, last October, when the chancellor re-announced support plans almost five times before finally confirming that he would extend furlough. It is absolutely essential that the UK Government commits to the furlough scheme. We have called on them also to change the rules that require contributions to the costs of the scheme from 1 July and that currently exclude people who have started a new job since the second of March from being furloughed. People who have been required to stop working to protect others should be supported as much as possible. To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the business sector regarding the current Covid-19 regulations. Welcome Pam Gosolf to her place. I think that this is the first time that we have had an exchange in the Parliament. We have engaged extensively with businesses and their representative organisations during the pandemic. I do not think that a single workday has probably gone by without some form of engagement. Officials counted that between March and December 2020 more than 820 engagements took place. There is a regular weekly programme of engagement that continues with business leaders, including the CBI, the FSB, the Institute of Directors, the chambers, the SCDI, the Scottish Financial Enterprise, the Scottish Retail Consortium, the Scottish Tourism Alliance and the Scottish Food and Drink. Immediately after I was sworn in, the first thing that I did was meet with that group to discuss a range of priority issues. I also discussed the latest restrictions with them yesterday. Pam Gosolf, I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Cabinet secretary, one sector that has been complaining bitterly about its current circumstances is those providing contact services such as beauty therapy and spa treatments. They have lost out on the availability of business restart grants because they have been classified as non-essential retail, which is an inaccuracy that needs to be urgently addressed. Will the cabinet secretary agree to ensure that those services are properly reclassified in the future? I think that there is some misunderstanding about the restart scheme. Separately from that, we are one of the only places in the UK that actually put in place a specific funding stream for close contact services, for mobile close contact services, to try and reach what is a predominantly self-employed sector with additional support. We provided the smaller restart grant, in line with what the rest of the UK did for those businesses that were able to open before others and reserved the larger restart grants, in line with the rest of the UK for those businesses that we started later on. That remains our position, and I have no intention of changing that. Willie Rennie? The cabinet secretary will be aware that there is a lobby outside Parliament today from the travel industry. They cannot understand, although they have effectively been shut down by the restrictions, that they have received very little financial support in return for months. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the level of restrictions should match the level of financial support that is made available by the Government? I know that Willie Rennie has been an advocate for the travel industry for a number of months. Of course, he will recall the fact that we put in place a specific fund for travel agents, as well as for the inbound tour sector and the wider tourism sector that relies on international travel. I think that we were one of the few places that did that. However, I absolutely understand that some sectors are being impacted for longer because of a lack of international travel. I know that the sector, more than anything else, wants the restrictions to be lifted, which we intend to do on a foreign nations basis as far as possible. In the meantime, looking at additional support is very challenging because of a lack of additional consequential funding, but Ivan McKee, the Minister for Tourism, has written to the UK Government specifically on the issue of the travel industry's need for additional business support to look at whether additional consequentials could be made available to support that sector. Presiding Officer, today is a day of action at the airport. Sadly, the route from Aberdeen to Manchester is now to close. Is the Government prepared to meet with the airports to discuss a plan so that jobs can be saved? The Cabinet Secretary for Transport has met regularly with the airport sector and the wider aviation sector since the pandemic hit last March. We remain in close contact with them. We, of course, were again one of the few parts, if not the only part of the UK, to extend non-domestic rates relief to the airport industry in light of the challenges that they face. We will continue to keep in close contact with them. I know that, ultimately, what they want to see is a removal of restrictions. We want to do that on a foreignation basis when it is safe to do so, when we see that the vaccination programme is making good progress across the world. Thank you to ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the economic recovery of town centres. Presiding Officer, I will shortly be setting out plans for a Scotland loves local loyalty car scheme and a £10 million Scotland loves local programme to help to revitalise town centres hit by the pandemic. We are working with COSLA and partners to respond to the ambitious vision for our town centres and the recommendations to deliver it set out in the recent town centre review report, A New Future for Scotland's Town Centres. All of that is underpinned by our £325 million place-based investment programme, which will accelerate our ambitions for place, 20-minute neighbourhoods and town centre revitalisation. While the pandemic has accelerated the collapse of many large retailers in our town centres, including Cercodiant on Ferman, that was already a feature of high streets across Scotland. They are owned by private companies and private investors, but we do lead a public sector response to the challenge that we are facing. The minister mentioned in some projects, but what is there to incentivise the repurposing of large units to support local authorities in their efforts to invest in changing town centres, which will need a significant investment and for the public to have a stake in the decisions that impact on their high streets and their environment? I thank Clare Baker for her supplementary point. She raises a lot of important points. What I would highlight is that all ideas are live and relate to our response to the town centre review. That is due to be published later in the year. I would also draw the member's attention to our retail strategy, which is also due for publication later in the year. Finally, as planning minister, I will lay a draft of the national planning framework for in Parliament later in the year in the autumn. I am keen within the portfolio to ensure that all of those areas align. In particular, I recognise the point that I think that it is implicit in what the member makes, which is the need to ensure more community ownership in our town centres and, indeed, as the minister responsible for social entrepreneurship and employee ownership, which is an area that I would be very happy to engage with Clare Baker and any member further on. MTown centre properties are being repurposed into spaces to house artist studios, venues and workshops, including Fire Station Creative in Dunfermline and Creative Sterling's hub. Can I ask how the Culture, Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund has directly supported those types of initiatives and what further support can be offered to provide a viable future for our town centres? On the specific question that the member raises, I do not have that detail in front of me, although I will be happy to write to the member. I think that the member raises a very important point. It is absolutely correct that we recognise that we have a duty to support the cultural sector in recovery, but I think that the cultural sector has a massive role to play in supporting town centres in recovery. Again, that is an area that I would be very keen to take forward with the member and any other interested member in this chamber. Does the minister agree that high street retailers operate at a severe disadvantage relative to online businesses in terms of paying rates, for example? Given that taxing online retailers is reserved, is the Scottish Government urging its UK counterparts to enact such a policy, actively pursuing any revenues that should then accrue to Scotland and, ultimately, the devolution of such a power? We recognise the concerns that are raised regarding a level playing field for all, and the Government is committed to supporting all businesses, including those that deliver online services. For that reason, we have committed to exploring the introduction of a new national digital sales tax in our recent manifesto, and we will be looking into that complex area. 5. To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it will provide to the hospitality sector to mitigate against the impact of Covid-19 restrictions. Thank you for the question. The finance sector announced on 2 June up to £12 million additional funding for the 14 local authorities that are remaining in level 2. Should restrictions continue to the end of June, payments will be processed on a weekly basis. That included £4.5 million for the events and wedding sectors, and up to £7.4 million to support hospitality businesses, with grants of between £350 and £525 per week for businesses that are required to modify their operations in level 2. In the short term, the minister refers to today's announcement that hospitality premises showing euro matches that go into extra time can open a bit longer will be welcomed by those businesses that receive the support, but it still excludes far too many others. Even when restrictions are lifted on August 9, that will not be enough for many small hospitality businesses. Does the minister accept that what we need is a proper recovery plan for small businesses, including hospitality that covers long-term support, reform of business rates that penalise hospitality and other measures to help to get those local firms back on their feet? I will never all be aware that we are keen to do what we can to support the sector. I have met various stakeholder groups in the sector over the past two or three weeks to discuss those very issues. As funds become available through consequentials from the UK Government, we will ensure that the sector is supported to the best of our ability. As the member rightly identifies, recovery from the pandemic is hugely important. That is why we are putting significant focus on our economic transformation strategy that we are working through the details of at the moment. We will address the issues of how we build this sector and sectors across the economy to not only recover from the pandemic, but to transform the economy in Scotland to the economy that we want to see. Thank you. While hospitality is now open, there are still facing many restrictions and lower customer football and significant barriers to trading. Can the minister indicate what analysis of the Scottish Government has conducted into the levels of operating loss faced by businesses in the sector? Can he advise of any Scottish Government analysis on the proportion of that loss, covered by supports, grants and loans that the Scottish Government has provided? The first point to make clear is that the purpose of the support that we provide cannot cover the losses for every business across the sector. It is indicated that we pass on the consequentials that come from the UK Government. That total of £3.6 billion has been used to support businesses through the course of the pandemic. On analysis of the impact on the sector and across the wider economy, we are engaging in discussions with the national services sector, which is our best place to understand the levels of debt that has been suffered by businesses across the economy, to look at that, not only at a macro level across the economy but also to conduct sector analysis to understand the differential impact across specific sectors of the economy. Emma Harper I welcomed the announcement yesterday from the First Minister regarding changes to wedding guidance. Weddings are key to the hospitality sector, and I have been contacted by wedding venues in the south of Scotland regarding whether a specific route map out of Covid-19 could be created for the wedding sector to meet the diversity of weddings and wedding venues. Is this something that the minister could consider and could he outline if that would be possible and potential timeframes for it to be established? A number of changes were announced yesterday that will benefit the wedding sector from 28 June when wedding safflars will no longer be included in the numerical cap. Focused entertainment will also be allowed, provided guests are all seated at the sections. Those are being key asks from the sector, as the member knows. Wedding reception guidance service update on 22 June is out clearly what those changes mean for weddings. When we move beyond level zero, almost all Covid restrictions will be removed for businesses and individuals. That will mean that weddings can take place with dance and singing as before the pandemic. Some baseline measures will remain, including good hygiene and surface cleaning, and continued compliance with test and protect. More guidance on those baseline measures will be provided prior to moving the lot beyond level zero. To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the growth of jobs that will support a greener economy. We are committed to ensuring that our transition to net zero creates new opportunities for people across the country, and our £100 million green jobs fund is supporting green employment and creating opportunities for individuals to retrain and upscale in new and high growth areas. We are also investing £26 million to develop the energy transition zone in Aberdeen, which is expected to directly support 2,500 green jobs by 2030 alongside the further 10,000 transition-related jobs. We are continuing to deliver on that ambition, which will be key to achieving the changes that we need to meet our climate change targets and deliver a just transition. I thank the minister for that response. By 2030, at least 60 per cent of North Sea oil and gas platforms will be decommissioned and more than 1,500 wind turbines will be at the end of their life. The Scottish Government's analysis shows that decommissioning could support over 18,000 green jobs. Can the minister confirm that all of that work will be carried out here in Scotland? The reason why we are creating a £100 million green jobs fund, as well as the energy transition fund, which has indicated benefiting the north-east and Aberdeen in particular significantly already, is because we want Scotland to gain the maximum economic benefits from the just transition between now and 2045 or between now and 2030, as the member highlights. I am confident that we will create a lot more green jobs for Scotland. It is going to require our herculean effort, but for the sake of the planet and for Scotland's economy and our people, we will make substantial progress. However, we have to work collaboratively with the local agencies and all the institutions in Aberdeen and academia and everyone else, and I am sure that we will do that. Question 8, Jackson Carlaw. That was a good one. Time was up, Presiding Officer, but thank you. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement that the UK-Australia free trade agreement will remove tariffs of up to 5 per cent on Scotch whisky. We are, of course, keen to see all Scottish exports increase in line with our vision for trade. However, any potential gain for Scotch whisky is more than offset by the cost of the deal to our farming communities. That is why it is vital that the UK Government is involved. The Scottish Government and other devolved administrations in these trade discussions to make sure that trade agreements are in the best interests of everyone across Scotland. It is well known that the deal has been celebrated in Canberra but concealed in London. As we heard last week from the shillian deputy prime minister, the big winners are Australian producers. Jackson Carlaw. Can I thank Ivan McKee for that response? When he gets time to get off his high horse, can I ask him to focus on the aspect that I asked about, which is the opportunity for Scotch whisky? Australia was our eighth biggest market last year with £113 million to the Scotch whisky industry. What specific conversations has he had since the announcement of the agreement with the Scotch whisky industry about how the Scottish Government can work with them to ensure that we maximise the opportunity? Assuming that he is not bothered to do that, can he commit to doing that in the weeks ahead? I have an on-going discussion with the SWAs. Jackson Carlaw should know about how we maximise the opportunities for all Scotch products, including Scotch whisky globally. I have engaged extensively with them around the challenges that they have seen with regard to US tariffs, and the Scotch whisky industry has got a representative on my trade board, so I do not lecture me about engagement with the Scotch whisky industry. This is something that we do on an on-going and regular basis, but the key point about the trade deal is that the UK Government has not published its impact assessment in full. The reason for that is the significant negative impact that the trade deal in its entirety has for the Scottish economy and for our farming communities. That is why it is important that the UK Government needs to engage with the devolved administrations to make sure that Scottish interests are taken into account in those trade deals. Does the minister agree that no free trade deal is ever completely free and that Australia deal comes at particularly high costs for Scotland, including in terms of lowering standards for consumers? We know that trade deals involve trade offs, but the Scottish Government has had no involvement at all in those decisions. We have argued consistently that any trade agreement must protect a food, welfare and environmental standards, and that any imports must be produced to equivalent standards to Scottish production. It would be unacceptable if our current high standards suffered as a result of that deal, and it is vital that the UK Government share the full detail of what has been agreed with Australia. Thank you minister. That concludes the portfolio questions on finance and economy. I move to portfolio questions on education and skills. If, during the relevant question, a member wishes to request a supplementary question, they should press the request-to-speak button or indicate our in-the-chat function. To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to provide secure, sustainable and long term post-Covid-19 pandemic skills and training opportunities. Skills is a key priority for this Government. Last week, we made one of our first 100 days commitments announcing a further £20 million for upskilling and retraining through our national transition training fund. We are investing across the whole skill system, including our colleges and universities, to deliver learning opportunities to equip our workforce for the jobs of the future. In addition to over £2 billion allocated for post-school provision in 2021-22, we have committed an additional £500 million in this Parliament to support skills and employment. The minister will be aware of the latest numbers showing that fair start Scotland scheme has resulted in only 9 per cent of participants remaining in employment after 26 weeks. This low level of employment under the scheme has been a feature of the scheme since it was introduced three years ago before the pandemic. Does the minister acknowledge those disappointing results in terms of employment from the fair start scheme, and what steps will he take to improve the performance of that scheme? I am sure that Richard Lochhead, my minister's colleague, who has responsibility for that scheme, will be delighted to provide an update to Mr Lochhead. What I am always struck by is the Tories' unwillingness to recognise the fundamentally different approach that we have taken with employability programmes by comparison to them in Government, where they coerce and compel some of the most vulnerable people in our society to take part in employability programmes at the threat of losing their benefit entitlement. That is not the approach that we will ever take, and it is the approach that I am proud of. To ask the Scottish Government when the national qualifications group agreed on the appeals process for the 2021 national qualifications and whether the decision was unanimous. I did not quite catch that question, Presiding Officer. I thought that you moved on to question number two. I apologise for that and will perhaps take on question number one, the supplementary from Collette Stevenson. This is going well, who has not pressed, so we will now move on to question number two, Paul Sweeney. To ask the Scottish Government whether demonstrated attainment from the 2020-21 school year will be used in determining learner grades. This Government's absolute priority has been and remains to ensure that our young people are kept safe and are able to achieve fair and credible grades in spite of the most challenging of school years. The professional judgments of teachers and lecturers based on what learners have demonstrated that they have attained is at the heart of this year's approach. Learners' grades this year will be judged by their teachers based on the evidence of their work. If a learner demonstrates that they deserve a certain grade, then that is what they shall receive. Teachers and pupils have been contacting me in distress and under pressure due to what one teacher called exams by stealth. One pupil who contacted me likened the approach from the SQA to gaslighting. Those concerns have been compounded by the elimination of last year's results from the historic grade boundaries. It feels to me that the Government is about to fail the most disadvantaged pupils again in an unforgivable dereliction of duty. Most shameful of all, they appear to be trying to shift the blame on to teachers. There is no room for teacher judgment. Estimate grades must be evidence-based, so will the cabinet secretary now do what must be done to avoid the mistakes of last year and agree that we need to scrap pre-moderation, allow teachers to professionally determine grades without constraints and introduce a no-determine appeals process? The model that we have in the alternative certification model has been co-produced with the national qualifications 21 group, which includes teachers representation on that. It is specifically asked as part of that process that this was about demonstrated attainment, so that is directly against what teachers representatives asked for as part of that process. We have worked very carefully with stakeholders, including teachers, but also with young people as we have moved through that process. I appreciate that there has been a difference of opinion around part of the appeals process and there is a question on that later, which I will perhaps leave the details on that for, Presiding Officer, but I certainly remain committed to ensuring that young people have faith, as they absolutely should do, in a fair, incredible process that has been worked with stakeholders and the SQA to deliver that for them. As the cabinet secretary, when she became aware, local authorities were excluding 2020 exam results when using historical data to moderate grades this year. If she was aware that the SQA discussed the use of statistical analysis with local authority directors of education ahead of quality assurance models being designed and adopted. I appreciate a great deal of speculation around historical data being used, but I would once again say that it is part of a quality assurance process that can be undertaken by local authorities that helps to identify patterns and trends that can be used for local quality assurance to prompt discussions around attainment and achievement. That historical data is important because it can support teachers and head teachers to be confident about their judgment based against the national standard. The important aspect of that, as always, is to ensure that young people themselves know that if their demonstrated attainment has demonstrated a grade, then that is the grade that they will get. Historical data is not being used as an algorithm to change their grades either by the school or by the SQA. Following the OACD's report proposal that Scotland's assessment system needed to match the 21st century curriculum, what is the education secretary's response to the call from Maureen MacKenna, one of Scotland's leading educationists and Glasgow's council's executive director of education, for a big debate on whether teachers' continuous assessments should play an on-going greater role in pupils' final grades and qualifications in the future? As I mentioned in my statement yesterday, there are no decisions that have been taken around what any reform of the qualifications or assessment approach would look like in the future. That is because we have the second OACD report on a comparative analysis of assessment qualifications approaches due by the end of August. When that comes through, I will absolutely commit to engaging with stakeholders, including Maureen MacKenna, if she wishes to do so, to discuss future plans for senior phase qualifications in awards. To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for students impacted by Covid-19. I understand the significant impact that the pandemic has had on students. As a result of this, many students are facing financial difficulties with accommodation, associated costs or challenges in getting jobs. In direct response to that, we have now committed an additional £20 million to help to alleviate the financial pressures that many students face over the summer period. Its support provided to students over the course of the pandemic has been substantial, with more than £96 million being provided via hardship funds, digital access, mental health support and support for student associations. The Covid pandemic has severely impacted many students and it has magnified the financial burdens that some students face during the summer. As the SNP continues to prioritise improving the attainment gap in Scotland to providing this summer support to students, it is a really positive step towards achieving this. Many students find themselves in debt over the summer months and not all have the capability to find work, sustain their accommodation or take-up training or volunteer opportunities relevant to their degree, as they simply cannot afford to do so. That puts some students at a disadvantage to their peers that can, based on their financial situation rather than their actual learning ability, provide an update on the timescale for the review of any future summer support for students taking place, as was outlined in the plan for the first 100 days of Government. Minister? Ms Dawn has rightly laid out that this is a commitment that we have made in the first 100 days to commence. The review of summer support will, of course, be engaging with the relevant stakeholders across the sector to help inform the review, considering all the relevant factors when making any decisions. I have already had dialogue with the national union of students, and we touched on a range of matters on the subject, including, of course, engaging with them. We are committed to beginning that review in the first 100-day period, then, when it is concluded, we will respond and look forward to updating Parliament on that in due course. Question 4, Alex Rowley. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the NASUWT Scotland survey, which suggests that 53 per cent of teachers have considered leaving the profession in the last year feeling demoralised, unsupported and unrecognised. We recognise the pressure on teachers and appreciate the extraordinary contribution in the most challenging of circumstances. We have already committed over £400 million to education recovery and introduced a support package for schools on mental health support for staff. We are committed to supporting the employment of an additional 3,500 teachers in classroom assistance and reducing teachers' weekly class contact time by 1.5 hours to reduce workload and enable more time for planning. We will continue to put the health and wellbeing of pupils and staff at the forefront of our recovery plans and work constructively with all stakeholders, including the NASUWT. Alex Rowley. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I welcome that answer and I wish the cabinet secretary well in addressing the crisis that we have within education. The EISI notice has put forward a proposal at its conference where it talks about reducing class sizes over a period of time, but it has put in specific timelines in and over nine years getting those classes right across Scotland down to at least 20. Does the cabinet secretary support that? Does she support the principle that we have to get more resources into the classroom? Will she put a timeline on when we will start to see new teachers coming into the classroom as well as a massive increase in teacher assistance? We are absolutely determined to move very quickly on the number of teachers and classroom assistance. That is why we moved, as part of our Covid recovery work, to already deliver additional teachers and classroom assistance. Once again, on top of that, another first 100 days commitment of this parliamentary term will be to fund councils to increase teacher numbers by 1,000 in classroom assistance by 500. I absolutely appreciate the points that Alex Rowley has made in his supplementary question and the need for the Scottish Government and our agencies to ensure that we are supporting teachers at that time. I hope that I can provide him with reassurance that that is something that I take very seriously and something that we are moving very quickly to do. I would like to ask the Scottish Government its views on the link between improving teacher morale, support and recognition in relation to the comments in the WECD curriculum for excellence report. The report states that I need to provide dedicated time to lead plans to support curriculum for excellence at the school level. That supports what I am hearing locally from teachers in the University of Wales constituency. They are telling me that increased planning time improves the quality of lessons that are delivered to our children. While the teacher workload was not raised by the WECD team, Scottish teachers have been in high-est rates of class contracts across OECD countries. The report states that the WECD is at the end of the year. For all teachers, there is a curriculum planning for the monistown district achievement in support of moderation. Will the Scottish Government commit today to prioritising a reasonable reduction in class contact time for Scotland's teachers? As I mentioned, as part of my answer to Alec Rowley, we have committed to reducing teachers' class contact time by one and a half hours per week. That was in the manifesto that we stood on. We are proud to deliver on that. We are, of course, investing in more teachers. That will ensure that we are supporting the WECD's recommendation around dedicated time for school staff to lead to plan and support the curriculum. We have begun those discussions through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers on how the reduction in class contact time can be most effectively achieved. I certainly hope that we can do that in the very near future. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to schools to enable them to hold modified sports events that can be attended by parents and carers. We know that end-of-year events such as sport days are important to children and young people as well as to many parents and carers. In light of current clinical advice, it is also important that we keep schools as safe as possible until the end of term. As always, that involves balancing competing risks and priorities. Our guidance for schools continues to reflect public health expert advice to minimise the number of contacts that children and staff have. That means that class sports days are able to go ahead and be enjoyed, but that spectator's attendance must be via digital means such as school secure online platforms. The cabinet secretary will be aware that Orkney has been in level 0 for some time, yet parents have been prevented from attending sports days at schools and nurseries across the county. At a time when fan zones were being given to go ahead by ministers, the curve on attending sports days has caused understandable anger and confusion. Why was more not done to help facilities, perhaps smaller scale events, that would allow parents to attend? Can it really be said that a risk-based approach is being taken where guidance is applied uniformly across the country? I thank Liam McArthur for that question. I appreciate that this has been an issue that has concerned many members across the chamber. I absolutely recognise the importance of events to mark the end of a key stage in a child or a young person's life and that very careful consideration has been given to it. The current guidance has been considered very recently, once again, by the Covid education recovery group and by the advisory subgroup on education and children's issues. We are not able to recommend changes to the position at that time, but I understand that many schools have made plans within the guidance. One of the reasons that we have not been able to suggest and propose a change in that is that we know that, if cases are identified within an education setting, they can often disrupt the whole setting, with perhaps many children and young people and teachers having to self-isolate. Of course, many early years establishments run right throughout the summer. That is the reason for the decision around educational establishments and our absolute priority that we have in keeping early-year centres schools open as much as possible and not requiring staff or students and pupils to self-isolate. Last week, I raised concerns in relation to parents and guardians who are still unable to attend their child's nursery and school graduation or sports days. If the Scottish Government will produce the evidence that states that it is not safe for parents to attend before parliamentary recess, given that the First Minister assured members that that would be made available? Certainly, I am happy to ensure that the member is directed to the advice that we have and the guidance that has come out and the minutes of the education recovery group. I think that I have stated the reasons for the decision of that group and of the advisory subgroup on education and children's issues, not to recommend to ministers a change in that guidance. I will not rehearse that again, but it is something that we will keep under review to see if changes can be made for the new academic year. A key issue in holding school events is Covid testing levels. Does the Government believe that the low number of Covid testing in schools has led to more disruption to young people's education? I thank Michael Marr for that question, because it is something that I have kept a very close eye on. We do believe that there is an under-reporting of Covid testing levels within schools, both from pupils and staff, because there is an under-reporting of when a person gets a negative test. We have discussed that at great length at the education recovery group. That is one of the reasons why both the unions and Public Health Scotland and other members of the groups think that we are looking at a lower level of results coming through than perhaps is what is happening in the area. It is something that we have been keen to press. I thank the unions for their work to encourage their staff to take that up and for ADES and others within local authorities to encourage that and to ensure that we are keeping that right up until the summer holidays. We are already looking at what needs to be done to ensure that testing is high as we would like it to be as we move into the next academic year. It is something that I am keeping an exceptionally close eye on, because I would also like to see the figures be higher than they are. Question 6, Paul O'Kane, and I apologise for the earlier confusion. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I knew that two Pauls in the Labour group would get confusing at some point, but I asked the Scottish Government when the national qualifications group agreed on the appeals process for the 2021 national qualifications and whether the decision was unanimous. The alternative certification model for this year has been co-produced by the national qualifications 2021 group to deliver the best possible approach under the circumstances to ensure that learners' hard work is recognised fairly. On the approach to appeals, there has been a range of views expressed following what was an extensive consultation on draft proposals. As has been apparent, some group members do not support the approach being taken while others do. Jim Thule is the general secretary of school leader Scotland, for example, is clear that SLSs are fully behind the model as the best approach possible and fully behind the approach being taken on appeals. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer and I know what she says about some members of the group. However, the Government has said that a rights-respecting approach is at the heart of our recovery from the pandemic, so it is therefore disappointing and frustrating that Cameron Garrett from the Scottish Youth Parliament, who was the only young person on the national qualifications group, has said that young people have been ignored in the formulation of the process. The views of young people and of upholding their rights should be among our top priorities in this Parliament. Can the minister set out if there were any other dissenting views within the national qualifications 21 group regarding appeals? As I said in my original answer, there were a number of thoughts on the appeals process and the different parts of the appeals process, so it is not a binary choice on the issue. There were a great deal of different thoughts about different areas on it. One of the things that I looked at as I reassured myself about what was happening on was that there was a fair and credible process. I appreciate that Cameron and others in the Scottish Youth Parliament wanted a no detriment right, where the grades could not go down. I do not think that that is fair and credible, because I do not think that it is fair on the young people who perhaps have not put in a repeal, because what we are having is somebody who is looking at that appeal, not looking at the whole evidence, but looking at part of that evidence. Therefore, I do not think that that is fair for all learners. I absolutely appreciate that, on this occasion, I took a different view to the young people who were represented on that. I can reassure them that I listened very carefully to that. They were not ignored. There was a genuine difference of opinion on that, but I look forward to working with Cameron and others as we move forward with the policies that we have on education. As I said yesterday, I am determined to put them at the heart of that. It may not necessarily mean that we will agree on every occasion, but they will absolutely be at the heart of the policymaking that we have in education in the Government. I will take questions 7 and 8 if we can approach both the questions and the answers on the part of the questioners and the cabinet secretary with some brevity. To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are for future investment in the school estate. Officials are currently preparing options for my consideration regarding phase 3 of the £2 billion learning estate investment programme. I expect to make an announcement later this year on the timescales for phase 3. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. All over our Gailan bute, we have excellent schools and they are fantastic places to learn. However, in the islands of Islay, Mull and Tyree, our high school estate needs upgrading. Our teachers are the best and our children's school staff deserve a building that mirrors the excellence that is taught inside. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that the quality of teaching must be mirrored by the quality of the buildings and funding should be forthcoming? I am determined that Scotland's pupils have access to high-quality up-to-date facilities that school communities can be proud of. I can reassure any bid for funding from our Gailan bute council through phase 3 of the learning estate investment programme. We will, of course, be given careful consideration. Question 8, Willie Rennie. The Scottish Government whether funding allocations earmatt to new and existing teaching posts will be made permanent to enable local authorities to award a greater number of permanent contracts. We are working closely with COSLA regarding the employment of teachers for the next academic year. As employers, local authorities are currently undertaking an assessment of staff requirements to support education recovery. As employers, the recruitment and deployment of teachers and other support staff in local authority schools is a matter for individual councils. Our education system is reliant on the hard work and dedication of our teachers, and I recognise the effort and resilience that they have shown to support learners during this pandemic. I am firmly off the view that we will need all possible teaching resources at our disposal to support education recovery, and I would expect employment opportunities to be available. Cabinet secretary, I completely dodged my question. I was asking whether I should be prepared to make the funding permanent so that the teaching posts could be made permanent. If the funding is temporary, it is a no-brainer that you are going to get temporary posts as well, so will she change the policy and allow local authorities to make these teaching posts permanent? The teaching profession, as we have already heard, is utterly depressed. It has been treated very poorly by this Government. Is it going to change its ways? Cabinet secretary, I will say to Willie Rennie exactly what the First Minister said to Willie Rennie as he raised this issue a few weeks ago. She said, and I will reiterate once again that we need all possible teaching resources at our disposal as we move to education recovery. We are taking the Covid education recovery as a Government exceptionally seriously, and that is why I would expect permanent employment opportunities to be the priority of the local authorities, as does the First Minister.