 Gweithio, mae'r ystafell yng Nghymru yn gweithio'r cwestiynau, ac mae'n gweithio'r cwestiynau yng Nghymru, Peter Chapman. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that remote and rural schools are not at a disadvantage compared to schools in the urban area. Cabinet Secretary John Swin. Presiding Officer, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring access to high quality education in rural and remote communities, and it is taking a number of steps to make sure that that happens. In line with the recommendations of the Commission on Rural Education in 2014, the Scottish Government made a series of amendments to the Schools Consultation Scotland Act 2010 to provide additional protection for rural schools, including the establishment of a presumption against the closure of rural schools and additional consultation requirements in respect of the likely impact on the community and the likely effect caused by different travelling arrangements. The member will also be aware that the local authority funding distribution formula includes a number of adjustments to ensure that remote and rural schools are not disadvantaged compared to those in urban areas. Peter Chapman. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. In the north-east of Scotland, in particular Aberdeenshire, there is a high teacher vacancy rate and problems with teacher shortages. Maria Walker, director of education and children's services for Aberdeenshire council, described the current situation and I quote, as cruel, and also said that teacher recruitment is our constant worry. Northern Alliance councils such as Aberdeenshire want more varied routes into the profession and have even had to ask parents to help to find qualified staff. What action will the Scottish Government take to help to alleviate the problems that are experienced in Aberdeenshire bearing in mind that one in ten teacher training places go unfilled? The Government has taken a number of steps to address this issue, and I have discussed those questions with Maria Walker, as the director of education in Aberdeenshire council. My instigation has invited the colleges of education to come forward with a range of different routes that will improve the speed at which individuals can enter the teaching profession, subject of course to the assurance of the general teaching council that the requisite levels of quality are achieved by the individuals who pursue those routes. In addition to that, I have just recently increased the intake for the sixth year in a succession of teachers into the colleges of education. As Mr Chapman may be aware, I recently announced a teacher recruitment campaign under the headline of teaching makes people to encourage more individuals to enter the teaching profession. I can assure him that I recognise the difficulties that are caused by the shortage of teachers. We are doing everything in our power, including asking the general teaching council to work with teachers who are registered to teach but not currently teaching in Scotland to ensure that they are available and also to provide the easiest possible route for teachers who are experienced in other parts of the United Kingdom that wish to teach in Scotland to be able to enter the profession as swiftly as possible. What analysis does the Scottish Government do to compare teacher numbers in rural schools and urban schools on a school-by-school basis? The pupil-teacher ratios are monitored right across the country, and they are shown by local authority areas. Of course, there is variation in that because of the fact that in rural authorities pupil-teacher ratios are generally lower in rural authorities compared to urban authorities. All local authorities have a collective obligation under the fair local government settlement to maintain the national ratio of teachers to pupils in classrooms, but Kate Forbes' question highlights the fact that in rural authorities in general the pupil-teacher ratio is lower than in urban authorities. The Deputy First Minister mentioned in his initial answer to Peter Chapman that the local government formula takes into account rural and island issues. When he is considering revisions to the pupil equity fund, would he consider taking those aspects into the pupil equity fund? When he was in Lerwick last Monday, he would have recognised that Shuttland's council is gaining £200,000 out of that fund but for 24 schools. Therefore, there are some considerable challenges that we wish to address with a formula that was possibly more advantageous to the islands. I am certainly open to pursuing those questions. As I have said to Mr Scott before, I am open to considering the issues around the formula by which pupil equity funding is distributed. We have used free school male eligibility to give us as detailed a picture of the prevalence of poverty around the country. I would be the first to accept that there will be limitations to that. It is a better mechanism than the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation in terms of geographic coverage, but I would be the first to accept that there will be limitations of that methodology. I am very happy to engage on that question. I had a very helpful meeting with the convener of education and the deputy convener of education of Shuttland Islands Council when I was in the islands just the other week there. I had a very interesting visit to Anderson High School. I was taking very close attention to who's names were on the duck's board of Anderson High School. Can I ask the cabinet secretary to outline his thoughts on the recommendation from the commissioning on wedding access that universities, colleges and local authorities should work together to provide access to a range of higher and advanced higher subjects, which ensures that those living in rural areas are not restricted in their ability to access higher education by the subject choices available to them? Will the cabinet secretary agree with me that we have a duty as elected representatives to speak about education in a way that is encouraging to those considering entering the profession? I am very happy to address the issues that have been raised by Gillian Martin on the question of the commission on wedding access, which sets out very clearly the necessity to ensure that young people have the chance to study for appropriate qualifications by better integrating provision in their senior schools and colleges. I think that there is a tremendous amount of innovation that is now under way in the country where young people are now having access to those opportunities. I want to make sure that that is taken further. Obviously, digital connectivity assists us in a number of those respects in ensuring that we can extend the scope and the range of opportunities for young people to acquire the qualifications that will ensure that they are able to access higher and further education. We need to ensure that that good practice and opportunities are available to young people in rural areas, too. When the Government looks at the learner journey from 16 to 24, we will consider those issues. Lastly, it is important that we have a positive debate about the opportunities in education. The Government's campaign to motivate individuals to enter the teaching profession is called Teaching Makes People, because that is exactly what is the product of the fine work that teachers do, and it is important that we support them in their efforts. Question 2, Elaine Smith. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to retain and recruit teachers to tackle shortages. The Scottish Government is taking a number of actions to help to recruit and retain teachers. We are spending £88 million this year to make sure that every school has access to the right number of teachers. We are opening up new and innovative routes into teaching. We have increased student teacher intake targets for the sixth year in a row, and we are setting targets to train teachers in the subjects where they are needed most. We also launched the teacher recruitment campaign, which builds on the success of last year's inspiring teachers campaign, which helped to drive a 19 per cent increase in PGDE applications to Scottish universities compared to the previous year. Elaine Smith. Thank you, cabinet secretary, for your response. However, as it is International Women's Day, I think that it is pertinent to ask what actions specifically are the Scottish Government taking to address gender equality and violence against women to keep women teachers in the profession, given reports that misogyny and sexual harassment in schools are on the increase. What I would say to Elaine Smith is that any misogyny or bullying or sexual harassment or discrimination against women is wholly unacceptable in our education system. Any member of staff who feels that they are experiencing such conduct would have my full support and encouragement to raise those issues through the relevant channels to make sure that their interests are protected. It is important that we have an environment in our schools, which is a strong, tolerant learning environment in which young people are able to learn in such an environment and teachers are able to teach in such an environment. I hope that those values will be reflected in what the Government takes forward in our general work. On the issue of female access to teaching education, we are particularly concerned about ensuring that in our wider STEM work that we encourage more and more women to become involved in the STEM subjects, and that is reflected in the campaigns that we take forward. Richard Lochhead. The cabinet secretary will be aware from his recent visit to Murray, which I was very grateful for, that teacher shortages continue to be an issue in Murray. He may also be aware that the Northern Alliance of which Murray Council is part of, with the directors of education working closely together, believes that empowering local authorities to have more say over teacher training may be part of the solution to helping to attract more homegrown teachers into the profession. Is that something that the cabinet secretary is able to give some more thought to? Is that something that is perhaps on his agenda? On the first point that I made to Mr Lochhead is that the work of the Northern Alliance is very important and beneficial because what it is doing is bringing together expertise across seven local authority areas to create a much stronger advisory support arrangement to the delivery of education within the north of Scotland. Certainly from the feedback that I have had in all the local authority areas that are involved, they are appreciating and valuing that approach that is being taken. There is an illustrative model for the rest of Scotland in what has been taken forward by the Northern Alliance. The second point that I would make is that the relationships between the university community and the colleges that are generating the teaching profession and the work of our schools are absolutely critical to ensuring that we have a strong approach to the learning and teaching of our teaching workforce. I am happy to consider the issues that have been raised by the Northern Alliance to ensure that local authorities are already involved in the determination of teacher recruitment levels. They are part of the workforce planning that the Government undertakes. I am certainly very keen to ensure that the colleges of education are closely involved in that process. Question number three in a solar. I ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the graduate apprenticeships since they were introduced. Mr Jamie Hepburn. Can I start by recognising that this is the Scottish apprenticeship week, a chance for us collectively to mark the success of Scottish apprentices and our apprenticeship offerings? That is a timely question. The Scottish Government spent £200,000 on graduate-level apprenticeships in 2015-16. The first year in which they were introduced and are projected to spend for 2016-17 is £1,372,000. In the coming financial year, we estimate that we will spend £4.7 million. I thank the minister for his reply. He will be well aware that this Government has spent over £1.5 million on the graduate apprenticeship scheme up to the end of this financial year, as he has just set out. However, that scheme has only delivered 27 opportunities. That means that each of those one graduates costs the Scottish Government £58,222. That is more than the cost of sending someone to Harvard University. In fact, it is more than the Government spends on educating a single young person from first to sixth year. Does the minister honestly believe that that represents good value for money? Minister. I think that the member might have confused opportunities with the number of start-ups, and I would urge him to do his homework rather better. Kenneth Gibson. Can the minister confirm that Labour has voted against every increase in apprenticeship numbers since the SNP Government came to the office in 2007? At the number of apprenticeships in North Ayrshire has increased by more than 89 per cent compared to 63 per cent across Scotland as a whole under this Government? The case is that our apprenticeship offering is inextricably interlinked with our budget process, and that is the case, of course. It is on the record that the Labour Party voted against our budget this year, along with the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, which should have denied apprentices and a potential apprentice across the country that opportunity. Dean Lockhart. Thank you. I also welcome the Scottish Apprenticeship week. Can I ask the minister why, after 10 years in Government, Scotland has only half the number of apprenticeships per head of population than the rest of the UK? I find it intriguing that Mr Lockhart has asked this question of me again. We have a high-quality offering here in Scotland. We have a different offering than that that exists south of the border. We explored this matter in a debate last week. The ambition that the UK Government has in the face of it for its rapid expansion of apprenticeship numbers in the face of it may look an attractive one, but I cannot possibly see how it will lead to an increase in quality. We have a high-quality offer here in Scotland, and we will continue to progress on that basis. Neil Findlay. Having served in apprenticeship, it requires good tutors and lecturers to get people through that apprenticeship programme. Is the minister aware that, recently, indeed on Friday, Harriet Watt University has announced 100 redundancies? How on earth is that redundancy programme being done to fill a £14 million gap that will help to increase the number of graduate apprentices? Of course, the funding for universities has increased over the period. There are undoubtedly problems associated with Brexit around the position of University of Scotland, which is something that Mr Findlay—we are not quite clear whether Mr Findlay supports Brexit or opposes it, but I recognise the fundamental point that Mr Findlay makes—that our apprenticeship opportunities rely on good quality people to deliver them, and I am very grateful that we have good quality people delivering apprentices right across Scotland. Gordon Lindhurst. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the consultation on reforms to its name person scheme has been described as a sham. As I set out my statement to Parliament yesterday, the three months engagement involved over 50 meetings with some 250 organisations and groups. That includes around 700 young people, parents and carers, practitioners, professionals and leaders in the health, local authorities, faith, communities, police, unions and charities. We engage with a number of stakeholders who gave a range of views and perspectives through the engagement programme. That includes a number of organisations that had concerns, including Care Scotland, Clans child law together and the Scottish parent teacher council among others. Gordon Lindhurst. I thank the cabinet secretary for what I think is a repeat of what he said yesterday, notwithstanding his statement yesterday and of course my question was lodged before the statement was made. Will he meet with the no to name persons campaign group to discuss his revisals to the scheme? Cabinet secretary. I went through this question yesterday, as curtisly as I could, because the view I have taken on this is that the discussions that I have had around the taking forward of this agenda has been to implement and to put into practice the name person provisions. The no to name persons campaign do not want name persons to be present at all. The formal consultation on that issue took place in 2012 and Parliament legislated for the issue as a consequence of that. My duty as a minister is to implement the will of Parliament, which is to implement what has been legislated for and to make arrangements to address the issues that have been put in front of us by the Supreme Court, which is precisely what I have done and the course of action that I have set out to Parliament. James Dornan. The cabinet secretary confirmed whether any parties in the chamber voted against the creation of the name person service in law. Would he agree with me that, in the same spirit, all parties should continue to recognise the benefits of this service for most vulnerable young people rather than playing politics with it? Cabinet secretary. The Children and Young People's Act 2014 was passed by Parliament by 103 votes to zero with, I think, if my amendment says we're right, 16 abstentions. No members of Parliament voted against the bill when it came to its enactment at stage 3 in 2014. What I intend to do is what Parliament would expect of me, which is to address the issues of the Supreme Court, which I believe I have done fully and comprehensively. I will bring forward the legislation for the highest amount of parliamentary scrutiny that any issue can be given, which is for Parliament to be invited to legislate on the issue, so that Parliament can come to its conclusions at that time. However, I do hope that, when Parliament considers this issue, it considers the issues on the basis of values and principles that I believe have underpinned much of the thinking of this Parliament since its foundation, which was the importance of taking steps to get it right for every child and to ensure that we take every measure to ensure that we support young people on their journey through our society. That's the thinking that I've applied to this legislation. Question 5, Miles Briggs. That's the Scottish Government how it ensures that schools have adequate numbers of support staff. Cabinet Secretary. It is for education authorities to ensure that schools have adequate numbers of support staff. Education authorities will take resourcing decisions based on their commitments, including statutory duties under the Addition of Support for Learning Act and local circumstances and priorities. Miles Briggs. Cabinet Secretary for that answer. I'm sure he will acknowledge that support staff play a vital role in helping our teachers in schools to support pupils with additional needs. Under this Government and under this SNP Labour-run councils watch in Edinburgh, the number of support staff in Edinburgh secondary schools has declined by almost 20 per cent since 2010, one of the largest falls anywhere in Scotland. How does the Cabinet Secretary reconcile this record with the Scottish Government's desire to close the attainment gap? Cabinet Secretary. Across the country, the number of staff supporting pupils with additional support needs was 12,572 in 2008. They are now 12,883 in 2016. What that demonstrates is the ability of local authorities around the country to make those decisions. That's as it should be because local authorities have those powers. What I find quite strange about the question that Miles Briggs has raised with me today is this. At the weekend, his party leader was calling for more powers to be given to local authorities. What Miles Briggs is doing here is coming here complaining about local authorities exercising the powers that they currently... Mr Briggs is shouting from a sedentary position what I'm doing about it. I'm respecting local authorities' decisions. It's up to local authorities to take their decisions within the resources that are available to them. Mr Briggs can't have it both way arguing for more powers for local authorities and then coming here to complain about when they exercise those powers and make the choices that they want to make. Jenny Gilruth. I remind members that I'm the PLO to the Cabinet Secretary. To ask the Cabinet Secretary what he and Scottish ministers are doing to give effect the measures in the BSL Scotland act, including supporting children with a hearing impairment in their education. Cabinet Secretary. The Scottish Government has taken forward a number of measures to support the individuals who are British Sign Language users. We were the first Government to introduce BSL legislation and last week the Scottish Government launched a consultation on the first British Sign Language national plan. The consultation on this plan will run until 31 May 2017 and will actively seek the views of a wide range of stakeholders. The draft plan includes the actions that the Scottish Government and national public bodies that Scottish ministers have responsibility for proposed to undertake to support the promotion of British Sign Language. We are committed to supporting children with a hearing impairment to reach their full potential. My officials are working with key stakeholders to identify and develop the actions needed to respond to the education committee and the inquiry into the attainment of pupils with sensory impairment. I understand that the development of the action plan is in advanced stages and we finalised shortly. All of those actions are based on the very positive initiatives taken by Mr Griffin in the last Parliament to advance the legislation on this question. Johann Lamond. Given the importance of the assessment of needs in securing additional help through support staff for a child, the Cabinet Secretary will be aware that, according to his own Government's figures for 2015, 28 per cent of pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have been assessed as having additional support needs in comparison with 16 per cent of pupils from the least disadvantaged backgrounds. Despite that, only 1.3 per cent of pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have a co-ordinated support plan in comparison with 2 per cent from the least disadvantaged backgrounds. Can the cabinet secretary explain why this clear inequality in support exists? What action will he take to ensure that young people secure the support that they need to sustain their place in mainstream education and particularly recognise the importance of the level of support staff for young people in disadvantaged areas who already face significant barriers to learning? Every young person that should have a co-ordinated support plan, in my view, must have a co-ordinated support plan regardless of their background. The commitment that we make around working to get it right for every child means that whatever the circumstances of the young person they should have the assistance that they require. Fundamentally, that issue is handled by local authorities in exercising their statutory duty. We had a discussion at the education committee about some of those questions this morning as to whether or not there were enough requirements and obligations that made sure that that was the case. I undertook this morning to take that issue away and consider it further. I say to Johann Lamont that my commitment is on the record that I believe that any child that requires a co-ordinated support plan should have one regardless of their circumstances. If we need to provide support to families from deprived backgrounds to be able to secure the support to which their child should have an entitlement, then the Government will give consideration to that issue. Of course, on the whole question of support to young people with additional needs, the way in which the Government is taking forward pupil equity funding puts resources into schools to enable schools to take decisions on many of these questions. Willie Coffey, to ask the Scottish Government how much support will be provided to schools in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency through pupil equity funding and when that will commence. Just over £2.16 million of the pupil equity funding will be provided to schools in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency. The funding will be able to use from the start of the 2017-18 financial year. That funding is part of the Scottish Government's commitment to provide £750 million during the course of this Parliament to provide targeted support for children, schools and communities to close the poverty-related attainment gap. Willie Coffey. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. That funding will make a huge difference to so many youngsters in my constituency, giving them the chance to at least catch up on their counterparts across Scotland. Despite Tory and Labour MPs voting against that fund, is the Government intending to report regularly and progress with the initiative so that we can track where the successes are being made, making sure that we can share the good practice across the country? I am keen that, as we take forward, there is a very innovative approach to the empowerment of schools that we are able to learn lessons in good practice and that will be shared across the country. What we have seen from the OECD analysis of Scottish education is that there are some very strong elements of educational thinking and practice within the country, but their challenge to us is to ensure that that is systemic. The Government has put in place a national improvement hub that provides a reference point for the teaching profession around the country in which it can identify interventions and measures that will assist in tackling the poverty-related attainment gap. That material is available and will be enhanced to ensure that we have the best practice available to us to use a fantastic opportunity to close the poverty-related attainment gap within Scottish education. Brian Whittle. To ask the Scottish Government what protocols are set for using this investment, how it is defining attainment and how it is measuring any change. Is the provision for choosing to invest outside of the classroom in the more supportive way such as transport for pupils participating in after-school activities, breakfast clubs or outdoor learning? The guidance that has been made available to schools has been discussed and agreed with local authorities about the handling of those resources. Some of the points that Mr Whittle makes are points that would be entirely legitimate because in some circumstances some of the young people involved will not be able to gain access to some of those trips that ordinarily in other family circumstances may be possible but will be of significant personal, educational and developmental benefit to the young people concerned. There has to be care taken in the decisions that are made about the use of those resources but what has given me tremendous confidence in the course of the last few weeks where I have met hundreds of headteachers from around the country at the different briefing events that we have had on pupil equity funding is that the teaching leadership in Scotland is absolutely determined to make the maximum impact with those resources and I want to take up to the point that Mr Coffey made about knowing what are the best interventions that can be used with the most effect to transform the lives of young people in Scotland. I think that that type of approach is to be welcomed and I look forward to seeing the fruits of that in due course. Question 7, Patrick Harvie. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reform personal, social and health education in Scotland in light of the evidence presented to the Education and Skills Committee on 22 February. I provide the evidence to the Education and Skills Committee this morning on, among other things, personal and social education. I will carefully consider any outcomes and recommendations from the committee's inquiry on PSE as part of our own work relating to health and wellbeing in the curriculum. We are all aware of the role that high quality PSE can have on children and young people's health and wellbeing and ensuring that this can be delivered will form part of my contribution to the forthcoming mental health strategy. I said to the committee this morning that I was very open to considering how we could undertake this activity more effectively and I look forward to hearing the proceeds of the committee's deliberations on this matter. Patrick Harvie. I think that it's long been recognised that the situation is patchy, not just in Scotland but throughout the UK on the provision of education in relation to a range of issues from sexual health, mental health issues around consent and a wide range of other absolutely critical life skills that young people have a need to access. There's been some success south of the border with a cross-party campaign, including a private member's bill by my own colleague Caroline Lucas, pushing the UK Government to acknowledge the need to make PSE mandatory in all schools. Does the cabinet secretary accept the fact that the situation is patchy in Scotland too, that young people in all schools have a right to high quality education on these issues and will he ensure that the same objective is secured, whether it is by the same means or different means, to reduce the fact that young people in Scotland are currently in a situation of a lottery in relation to the provision of these important issues in schools? I agree entirely with Mr Harvie's point that it is important that all young people in Scotland are able to be equipped with the requisite knowledge and awareness of the important issues around their own health and wellbeing, their sexual health, the issues of consent. We discussed many of those questions at the committee this morning and what I thought was a very helpful conversation in this respect. Mr Harvie rather makes my point for me that there may be a different route by which we undertake this in Scotland given the fact that we do not have a fixed curriculum. One of the three principal curricular areas of curriculum for excellence is health and wellbeing. Within health and wellbeing, there will be education on relationships and sexual health. As Mr Harvie will be aware, the Equal Opportunities Committee has asked me for an opportunity to reflect on some of the questions that should be in our refreshed strategy in this respect. I am awaiting their response in that respect, but I hope that once I have that and I reflect on the conclusions of the Education Skills Committee, we will be able to address fully the issues that Mr Harvie raises because it is important that young people have that awareness and that opportunity to form their views on those important questions. Ross Thomson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Will the cabinet secretary join me in welcoming that the TIE campaign pledge for inclusive education has now received a majority of support from MSPs in this place? Can I ask what is the response of the Government to this? Can the cabinet secretary tell the chamber today what steps the Government will take to implement the actions within the pledge now that Parliament has the will to act so that we can educate to liberate? What I would say to Mr Thomson is larger to reiterate what I said to Mr Harvie. The Government is addressing those issues through the work that is being undertaken on the relationships, sexual health and parenthood education. That needs to be comprehensive and inclusive. The Equal Opportunities Committee has asked me for an opportunity to consider some of those issues that have been raised within their committee deliberations and I have provided that opportunity and I am awaiting the conclusions of the committee in that respect. Once that is to hand, the Government will then take forward steps to ensure that the approach that we take on relationships, sexual health and parenthood education as part of health and wellbeing, which is one of the three core curricular areas in Scotland, is advanced comprehensively within Scottish education. Colin Beattie. To ask the cabinet secretary what action the Scottish Government is undertaking to promote healthy relationships among young people. If he can advise what progress is being made to address risky behaviour by our young people. Fundamentally, children and young people should be able to feel safe, respected, happy and included in their learning environment and all staff must be proactive in a school situation in ensuring that that is the case. Within and outwith schools, young people must be able to operate in an environment where there is a complete intolerance of bullying, whatever the motivation of that happens to be, and they should be able to, through their education, learn tolerance, respect, equality and good citizenship as part of fulfilling the four capacities of curriculum for excellence. Prejudice has no place in Scotland and the Government is continuing to work with a range of organisations such as Stonewall Scotland, LGBT Youth Scotland and the Thai campaign to ensure that we address the important issues around LGBT issues that young people face and that they are supported in that respect. I reiterate to Mr Beattie the points that I have made to Mr Harvey and to Mr Thompson about the importance of the guidance that will be issued on relationships, sexual health and parenthood education, which will largely reflect the conclusions of the analysis that we undertake. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that children are receiving quality early learning and childcare. Minister Mark McDonald. A high-quality experience for children is key to our approach to early learning and childcare and will remain at the heart of the expansion of entitlement to 1,140 hours. The quality of early learning and childcare is regulated through co-ordinated inspections by the Care Inspectorate in Education Scotland. Ultimately, the delivery of a quality ELC experience is driven by a highly skilled and qualified workforce. The Scottish Social Services Council regulates the early learning and childcare workforce by setting standards for practice, conduct, training and education, and supporting professional development. Graham Simpson. Research by Fair Funding for our Kids shows that 73 per cent of all free childcare places for three to five-year-olds in Scotland are offered in council-run nurseries. 89 per cent of those places are for half days only. Local authorities in Scotland are underfunding places in private nurseries by up to £492 per child. When does the Scottish Government anticipate that a full-day nursery place will be available to every child who needs one? Cabinet Secretary, Minister of Health and Sport. Thank you for that unexpected promotion, Presiding Officer. I say to Mr Simpson that those are points that have been raised with me in the chamber repeatedly, and indeed I have met Fair Funding for our Kids to discuss those very issues. We have a manifesto commitment to deliver 1,140 hours for early learning and childcare by 2020. The Government has recently undertaken a wide-ranging consultation on our blueprint in relation to that, and I will report to Parliament when we have determined the way forward following the consultation responses. On the point that he raises, there is a clear direction from this Government on flexibility in relation to early learning and childcare. Local authorities have a responsibility to consult properly with families on the requirements that they have for early learning and childcare in their areas, and we are determined to ensure that flexibility will form a key part of the expansion, but also ensuring, as I said in my initial answer to Mr Simpson, that equality is the absolute heart of what we take forward. Daniel Johnson. Last week, the family and childcare trust published a report showing that the cost of childcare has risen by 4.5 per cent in Scotland last year, while it has been falling in the rest of the UK. With the added pressure on nurseries of an average of 64 per cent rise in business rates for nurseries in Edinburgh alone, what assurances can the ministers give that those inflation-busting increases in cost in childcare will not continue? First of all, I am aware of the research undertaken by the family and childcare trust. However, we have raised with them a number of concerns regarding some of their research findings in the Scottish context. We do not feel that it accurately reflects policy and practice in Scotland, for example, and we are already taking forward all of the actions that they have highlighted and called for in their report. In terms of business rates, Mr Johnson will be aware that our local level powers now exist for local authorities to undertake schemes in relation to business rate reductions to support key sectors within those communities. That power is there. Additional money was allocated as part of the budget agreement that the Government reached with the Green Party in relation to allocations, which now enable councils to take forward those schemes, and those are being taken forward by a number of local authorities already. As well as the national rates relief scheme that Mr Mackay outlined in the chamber, on top of that, the opportunity is there for local authorities to take forward those powers. It would perhaps be appropriate for Mr Johnson to speak to his colleagues in Edinburgh City Council, where I know that the Labour Party forms part of the administration about what proposals they have to take forward localised rates relief schemes as exist in other local authorities following their budget discussions. Question 9, James Kelly. To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that children from low-income families are able to afford school uniforms? All children in Scotland should have equal access to education regardless of their financial circumstances and regardless of their background. The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities to help low-income parents to afford the basic costs associated with school, such as suitable clothing. That provides support for families impacted by austerity, putting money back into the pockets of families who need it most, and, importantly, will ensure that all children and young people have suitable clothing to enable them to learn and thrive at school. The Education Scotland Act 2016 allows Scottish ministers to make regulations so that local authorities pay a minimum for school clothing grants. COSLA has indicated a willingness to reach a voluntary arrangement to create a national clothing grant and discussions are continuing to explore how that can best be achieved. James Kelly. I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that answer. The child poverty action group estimates that the basic minimum cost of a school uniform is £129, not including the wear and tear of that uniform throughout the cost of the year. Given that the recommended minimum cost of the school clothing grant is £70, well below the average cost of £129, coupled with the cuts to local government budgets of £170 million, what assurances can the cabinet secretary give to pupils and parents from low-income families that they will be able to afford adequate school uniform costs? I am very sympathetic to the point that Mr Kelly raises. I am not sympathetic to his analysis of local government finance but he won't be surprised at that. I had a very helpful discussion with the child poverty action group and with a number of parents to see me who went through many of the legitimate and well-researched issues that Mr Kelly has raised with me. I am keen to make progress in this question because I recognise that the importance of school uniform can be central to assisting and creating the ethos of a particular school and no child should feel excluded or in any way unable to participate in that fully. Mr Kelly raises our substantial issues and I give him the assurance that we will be continuing discussions with COSLA to make progress in this question.