 The First Item of Business this afternoon is consideration of business motion 11143. In the name of Jo Fitzpatrick, on behalf of the parliamentary bureau, setting out a revision of today's business programme, could I ask any member who wishes to speak against the motion to press the request to speak button now please, and I call on Jo Fitzpatrick to move motion number 11143 please. No member has asked to speak against the motion, therefore I will now put to the question to the chamber. The question is that motion number 11143, in the name of Jo Fitzpatrick, be agreed to. Are we all agreed? We are, the motion is therefore agreed to. The next item of business this afternoon is portfolio questions, and as ever, to try and guess as many people as possible in, I would prefer short and succinct questions and answers to match please. To ask the Scottish Government what provision primary schools and nurseries make for first aid cover. Minister Alistair Allen. The provision of first aid in primary schools and nurseries is a matter for the education authority or nursery provider themselves in accordance with the health and safety at work act 1974. The occupiers liability Scotland act 1960 and where appropriate the schools, safety and supervision of pupils Scotland regulations 1990. Thank you, John Mason. I thank the minister for the answer. A constituent of mine has questioned Glasgow City Council about first aid in schools, but they seem to rely entirely on volunteers and often have no one whatsoever. That concerns both my constituent and myself. Would the minister be willing to look at this issue and perhaps raise it with COSLA? Minister. As I've mentioned, the 1990 regulations do make certain specifications in this area. In the first instance, any specific concerns a member might have about that should be raised with the local authority concerned. The Scottish Government is also leading a review of the administration of issues such as medicines in schools as well. To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation will be done of the work carried out by schools to help prepare 16 and 17 year olds to vote in the referendum. Minister Alistair Allen. Education Scotland undertook an interim evaluation of a sample of primary and secondary schools between January and June 2014 to evaluate the approaches adopted to promote political literacy and prepare young people for the referendum. The evaluation involved discussions with school staff, partners, including the Electoral Commission and pupils themselves, and found that in best practice schools demonstrated clear vision for and strong leadership for development of young people's political literacy. Education Scotland is committed to sharing this good practice more widely. I thank the minister for that answer. I'm sure that he, like me, welcomes the cross-party support for 16 and 17 year olds voting in future elections. Does he agree with me that, during the referendum campaign, different schools tended to take different approaches? If 16 and 17 year olds are to get the vote on a more permanent basis in future, should we have a more consistent approach across different schools in terms of how young people engage in the political process? Schools have in place, as we have both mentioned, an array of different strategies to support the development of responsible citizenship. One of the tenets of curriculum for excellence is to encourage that diversity of approach. Many schools have also established successful engagement with partners, including the Scottish Parliament education service. It should also be said with electoral registration officers who have ensured that young people this time round have been taking up the right which we all want to see them take up in all future elections. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in implementing the recommendations of the ICT and education excellence group. A range of activity to take forward the recommendations has been undertaken. Investment in glow has continued and last week glow was fully transitioned to a new flexible cloud-based arrangement. Nationally procured core services, including collaboration tools, email blogs, wikis and storage, have been implemented. Users can now personalise their own glow services through a library of educational applications. Support and training is available for teachers to help them to make informed decisions on how best to make use of glow and options for the future evolution of glow are being considered. Eileen McLeod I thank the minister for his response. I am aware that there are local authorities, including Dumfries and Galloway, which are now considering how people's use of their own IT devices in school may have a positive impact on teaching and learning. What advice and support is the Scottish Government offering to councils that are looking at introducing this policy? Michael Russell We are at the stage where it could be said that glow is almost device agnostic. It is very encouraging of new approaches and certainly we are supportive of that attitude. Through a technical and operational advisory group, comprised of ICT managers, information security officers and others, we would certainly continue to promote that diversity of approach. To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish updated guidance for the delivery of relationships, sexual health and parenting education. Minister Al Sturrell Relationships, sexual health and parenting education is an integral part of the health and wellbeing organiser of the curriculum. We will publish finalised guidance later this year. We recognise the importance of the guidance and want to ensure that we strike the right balance. Michael Biacchi Parliament has conducted research on the extent of RSHPE in schools and Barnardo's 15 lessons report has shown its importance for child protection. What action is the Scottish Government taking to ensure that we have top quality RSHPE in all schools? Michael Russell The member rightly highlights the importance of this issue. We know that the contribution of the Scottish youth parliament and others has been very important in highlighting a range of issues, including, for instance, the importance that they attach to teaching young people about the importance of such issues as consent. Yes, we all agree about the importance of ensuring that quality sex and relationship education is in place and we work together with many stakeholders to ensure that that takes place. To ask the Scottish Government how many further education college staff have had pay reductions or an increase in working hours following the recent merger process. The Scottish Government does not hold such information centrally, as it employers for individual colleges to determine appropriate pay terms and conditions for their staff. I am sure that the minister will appreciate the difficulty in trying to harmonise terms and conditions across Scotland, particularly when lecturers may have enjoyed different benefits in terms of salary levels or contact time or study leave. Can I ask the minister to offer an assurance that lecturers, for example, in the newly merged Ayrshire College, who might previously have enjoyed more favourable terms and conditions, will not be forced by underhand tactics such as being forced to apply for jobs at lower grades to ensure that they are in a better position to do so? I am glad that the member has converted to the concept of national terms and conditions. He and his colleagues voted against it in the bill, but I am very glad that he welcomes that now. I am very keen that that process takes place through negotiation between the trade unions and the employers. However, that negotiation, as trade unions will, I know that, confirm, will have to make sure that no individual suffers in this process and that, over a period of time, all individuals are satisfied that their interests are being met. That is the aim of the process, both in harmonising within colleges and harmonising nationally. I am very keen that that produces the best results for all staff individually and collectively. Clare Adamson, you mentioned the post-16 education bill, and I would say that one of the key strengths of that bill was indeed the reintroduction of collective bargaining in the college sector, a move that Labour members voted against at the time. Can you confirm that that will be being taken forward by the colleges in the future? Absolutely. I am glad that all members of the chamber now support national pay bargaining, because it is a very important element of the reforms that took place. Colleges Scotland are providing support for a series of committees that will determine the new national salary terms and conditions of service for the sector. The first meeting of the national joint negotiating committee for college staff took place in June 2014. That will be a difficult and complex process, because there were many, many terms and conditions. Indeed, I have been quoted often in this chamber, but I am saying at one stage that there were 43 sets of terms and conditions in only 41 colleges. It will take work, but the unions are engaged in this process, management is engaged in this process and it is backed by government. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government about reintroducing the post-study work visa. Cabinet Secretary, Michael Russell. The Scottish Government was opposed to the abolition of the post-study work visa, and we want the ability to reintroduce the visa in Scotland. Last week we submitted evidence that the UK all-party parliamentary group on migration inquiry into the closure of the post-study work route. That evidence has made clear the negative impact that the closure of the route has had on international student numbers, on businesses, universities and colleges. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer, but can he confirm that he will work with Universities Scotland and others who wish to see a reintroduction of the post-study work route to ensure that devolving immigration will be considered by the Smith commission? Of course, the clearest and most obvious way to have immigration and control of the Scottish Parliament would be to support independence. Given the present constitutional setup, it is more than possible to see how migration and immigration issues could be devolved. Indeed, if Gordon Brown is honest to his intention of a federal structure, then there are federal structures that work in that way. For example, in Quebec, there is shared sovereignty over the issues of migration. In those circumstances, of course, I would want to see the control of the issue being vested in this Parliament so that we can advantage Scotland and advantage those who want to come and study and work here. To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on severance packages in the college sector since 2011. The information is not held centrally, but I have asked the chief executive of the Scottish funding council for further and higher education to write to the member. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. As the cabinet secretary knows, almost half a million pounds in severance payments were shared between the principal and vice principal of the former North Glasgow college. Audit Scotland has raised serious questions over the process that led to those packages being agreed. Can the cabinet secretary tell me who was involved in the agreement of those packages and what knowledge did he have at the time? Of course, the Government has no knowledge of those arrangements being made between employers and employees, but I am very happy to say to the member that I thoroughly disapprove of circumstances in which individuals are seen to be in receipt of monies which other people question in terms of the amount of payments. I have said that in terms of university salaries, I have said that in terms of other salaries, I have said that in terms of severance payments. I think that there is a sense of responsibility that needs to be observed in those matters. I am quite happy to work with the member and others to make sure that, if there are questions raised as there have been questions raised over those and others, those questions are fully investigated and any responsibility is understood. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase awareness and understanding of autistic spectrum disorders in schools. Education authorities have duties to identify, make provision for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including pupils with autism spectrum disorder. To improve awareness and understanding of autism in schools, I launched the autism toolbox website in April at Grangemouth High School. It delegates to teachers, educational support staff and pupils. The toolbox website encourages best practice in schools. It also provides a forum for updating and disseminating good practice. I am grateful to the Scottish Government for launching the autism toolbox. Can the minister perhaps update the chamber on how that is being promoted within education authorities and individual schools and how that will be monitored and reviewed? Can he also give consideration to looking at how issues around autistic spectrum disorder and other additional support needs are captured within teacher training to ensure that newly qualified teachers have a good grounding and understanding of those conditions? The member has a commendable record on raising those issues. Scottish Autism has contacted all education authorities with the offer of awareness sessions about the toolbox and those sessions have already reached over 1,500 delegates. To enable the Scottish Government to monitor the promotion of the toolbox, Scottish Autism provides us with regular updates about the take-up of awareness sessions and about the usage of the toolbox. 9. Willie Coffey To ask the Scottish Government what the trends are in the number of children in Gallic medium education. The overall trend in the number of children in Gallic medium education shows an increase. That can be seen in the number of pupils entering primary 1 Gallic medium education classes. That has increased from 406 in 2011-12 to 428 in 2012-13 to 486 in 2013-14 to 536 in 2014-15. 9. Willie Coffey I thank the minister for that answer. He will no doubt be aware of the £36 million investment planned for a new school for Kilmarmark, a million pounds of which will support a magnificent Gallic 2 to 18 campus there. With something of that scale being delivered, does the minister see further opportunities to develop Gallic and perhaps also to reach out to parents in the wider community to take an interest in Scotland's language? The Scottish Government is always happy to reach out, as the member says, to the parent community, whether parents are with or without Gallic. We have an interest in ensuring that their children have a bilingual education. The support that is on offer from the Scottish Government has certainly been extended and made use of enthusiastically in East Ayrshire. 10. Rodri Cambell To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on funding for people studying postgraduate master's degrees. In the academic year 2013-14, the Scottish funding council introduced 850 fully funded postgraduate diploma and master's places until 2016-17. Encouraging more Scottish students to participate in postgraduate studies is a priority for this Government. East participation in postgraduate study can help to improve employment prospects for graduates and the competitiveness of the Scottish economy. We have been examining our overall support package for taught postgraduate students and I intend to make an announcement about that in the near future. Rodri Cambell I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I am aware that last year he announced that postgraduate students who study eligible courses will be able to get an additional loan of up to £4,500 from 2015-16. Is there any advice on whether consideration has been given to extending the number of courses that are eligible for the incoming loan facility? Rodri Cambell I am glad that the member has drawn attention to the additional loan for living costs that will be available from 2015-16. I acknowledge the member's long-standing interest in this matter, particularly in the funding of the postgraduate legal diploma. We are examining our overall support package for taught postgraduate students, including the eligible course list, which is a complex matter, given the range of subjects. I promise the member to make an announcement about that in the near future. Mary Scanlon I am pleased to hear that this is a priority. Postgraduate degree fees for humanities at Edinburgh University increased by 42 per cent last year from £7,000 to £10,000, with a significant reduction in Scottish students doing postgrad and one course at Edinburgh having no Scottish student for four years. Can I ask what is being done to help Scottish students and students from poorer backgrounds to access those postgrad courses? Cabinet Secretary I am glad that the member is concerned about that. I think that it is important that we support students in every way that we possibly can. One of the main disincentives for study, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, is the level of debt that will be incurred. In Scotland, we have the lowest level of undergraduate debt, and I intend to keep it that way. However, we now want to make sure that the debt incurred by postgraduate students is similarly helped. That is what the announcements that I have made to date have been directed towards. More can be done. We are operating within a hostile financial environment. We are also operating within an environment where, south of the border, there is considerable pressure to increase the borrowings that students have. If the member will lend her support to the Government in the aims that she has to keep Scottish education free, that will be something that will assist Scottish recruitment into postgraduate study over a period of time. I will be glad to have that support from the Tory benches. I will ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that grades awarded in the new national qualifications are considered to be equal across all subjects. The Scottish Qualifications Authority is responsible for ensuring that standards and grades remain consistent across all subjects from year to year and has robust processes in place to ensure that. SQA is confident that those standards have been applied to the new qualifications certified in 2014. If the minister is aware of an issue raised in the Times Education Supplement Scotland on 12 September, under a headline that has read, teachers reach boiling point over physics marking, where education experts are reported as expressing concerns that the new national exams are making science subjects too difficult and that teachers and physics in particular are concerned that their subject will suffer because good marks are being so hard to come by this year. Does the minister recognise those concerns and how would he respond to those experts and teachers who believe that science subjects in general, but physics in particular, will suffer a long-term decline in relation to other subjects because obtaining good marks will be comparatively more difficult? The member will be aware that the actual issue of marking is a subject for the SQA, but I can say that great effort has gone to by the SQA, which has 15,000 experts across different subjects, to ensure that no particular cohort of people sitting and exam is in any way either disadvantaged or advantaged to make sure that, from year to year, the grade boundaries take cognisance of any variations that are perceived to be there within the exams. It should be said that, in this year that has gone past, a record number of people have got hires. In fact, I might be right to say that record numbers have gone for hires in science subjects at the time when the past mark has not gone up. I think that that shows that, in Scotland, not only are we maintaining very high standards of which we should be proud, but also increasing access as well. On the implementation of new national qualifications, we have teachers who have never been so angry, and we have seen parents and pupils who have been worried and stressed. The cabinet secretary told the education committee yesterday that he has made mistakes. When people make mistakes, the normal thing to do is to apologise for them. Will the minister do what Mike Russell did not do yesterday and take the opportunity to apologise to teachers, parents and pupils in Scotland for his Government's mismanagement of curriculum for excellence, to be too happy to hide behind everybody else? If that was a question rather than just a series of complaints about humanity, I think that we should, as a country and as an education system, be very proud of the efforts that have been gone to by teachers, by young people and be proud of the achievements that they have made. We certainly should not be putting ourselves in a position where we say anything that suggests that this year's qualifications are somehow to be disparaged. There is every reason to be proud of this year's achievements. Of course we want to learn from the way that we implement things. Of course we want to do things even better in the future, but we should be proud of the fact that this year, the number of higher that I have just mentioned is up. There is every indication that young people are achieving and achieving well. Question 12, Jenny Marra, has not been lodged. An explanation was provided. Question 13, Graham Dey. To ask the Scottish Government how plans for the children and young people's summit are progressing. Minister Eileen Campbell. The children and young people's summit will bring together children, young people, those who support them in wider civic society. It will provide an opportunity to harness the renewed interest in the positive energising, consented improvement that we have seen over the last two years. That was personified in the two young women I met yesterday, a visit to indie youth and castle milk, who were bright, articulate and interested in contributing to decision making. This gathering will be at the beginning of a process that will see conversations with children and young people take place around the country. These conversations will inform future policy and will drive improvement in services for children and young people. The Scottish Government will convene the summit with the participants determining the most effective way to involve interested citizens at grass-roots level in improving services for children and young people. Thank you, Graham Dey. I thank the minister for that response. Can I ask her to confirm that young people from every local authority will be invited to attend the summit, thereby ensuring that the widest possible range of opinions from all parts of the country, taking in urban and in all its forms, rural, can be canvassed? I can very happy to confirm that a wide range of children and young people from right across Scotland will be invited to engage in the conversation. We want to hear from children and young people from right across Scotland and have asked Scottish Government officials to plan on that basis. At the public cabinet meeting I attended very recently in Aberoth, which I know the member was at as well, I had the pleasure of meeting many engaged children and young people in Angus, so we want to ensure that that breadth of talent and those voices are heard and listened to. We need to capture the momentum that the referendum process has created among our young people of late and harness it for the betterment of our country. To ask the Scottish Government what the head count, enrolment and full-time equivalent figures are for female students at colleges in 2014 compared with 2011. In keeping with normal practice, college sector figures for 2013-14 will not be available till January 2015. The latest figures, however, show that in 2012-13, 53 per cent of college students were female, the same percentage as in 2011-12. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The trend that we have seen over recent years is that, while the full-time equivalent figure has gone up, the head count number has been going down, indicating that fewer women are studying in our colleges. When I had a round table with single parents from Levenmouth, the biggest barrier to women going into college was the affordability and availability of childcare. While there is an on-going review of the workforce, what analysis has been done by the Government in terms of capacity in the childcare sector, which will specifically address the needs of parents who are seeking to go back to college? The biggest difference that could come in terms of transformational childcare was laid out in the Government's white paper, Scotland's Future. The member chose to campaign against that white paper, and therefore she should be aware of the consequences of her action and the actions of her colleagues. Order, please. There are always consequences to actions. The member should recognise those, but in those circumstances, many things, we wish to continue to do many things to assist women in Fife and elsewhere. Let me give the member an example of two of them. One of them is to continue with the process that my colleague Angela Constance has taken forward, and Levenmouth will be a pilot area for the Wood commission, so that we can make sure that lots of opportunities are created that will assist young women in those circumstances. The second one is to present the situation as it should be presented, by showing that the full-time equivalent figure is based upon real qualifications being provided within colleges, and those real qualifications lead to employability. The number of students achieving HNCDs qualifications recognised and valued by employers has gone up 36 per cent since 2007-8. Those are real qualifications, with which we will help. There are many other things that we are trying to do, but it becomes more difficult if this Parliament does not have the full, normal powers. The member cannot escape the consequence of our own actions. Gordon MacDonald. Gordon, please. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that the number of people studying for HNCDs and other recognised qualifications has increased, which boosts the chances of our young people getting work? I am happy to confirm that. The number of students achieving those qualifications is rising, up 36 per cent, since 2007-8. Up 121 per cent. The member did not have that figure, but I am happy to give it to her. Up 121 per cent in terms of degrees. It is the policies pursued by this Government that have improved the quality of opportunities for young people and the skills supply to our economy. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills says that 78 per cent of Scottish employers recruiting a college leaver found them well prepared for work higher than the closest compatible figures for other UK nations. That is a result of the reforms that this Government has taken forward in the teeth of opposition from the Labour Party and others. Question 15, Claudia Beamish. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government how it supports people in remote areas into further education and lifelong learning. Cabinet Secretary. This is a matter of great concern and of interest to myself as a constituency member, of course, as the Cabinet Secretary. The Scottish Funding Council pays a premium total of around £8 million to college regions that deliver in rural areas. Our reforms have also meant that colleges are increasingly funded on the basis of need. That has led to several colleges operating in a rural context such as Dumfries and Galloway College and Borders College in the member's own region receiving additional activity. Record levels of student support also mean that students of all ages are receiving better financial support than ever before to access college and that is right across the board both in rural and urban settings. Claudia Beamish. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. As a cabinet secretary will be aware, of course, living in more remote rural areas can pose a challenge for those seeking further education in colleges such as new college literature and Borders College which the cabinet secretary has mentioned. Scottish Government statistics for 2012-13 show that for school leavers in these areas roughly 6 per cent less attend further education than the national average. Can the cabinet secretary set out in some more detail for us please what the Scottish Government is doing to support the development of outreach courses and specifically transport support for links to colleges in these areas? Cabinet Secretary. There are two areas in which I think the member will be interested. One is the flexibility of transport support and the other is the work that has been done in Angus College to make sure that students in Angus and Dundee colleges were drawn into them by laying on particular transport. I have seen in Borders College a similar approach being taken and it is very useful indeed. I know that in September in the member's own debate on the value of skills partnerships my colleague Angela Constance made a commitment to write to you books that are of interest but skills-based open learning which in my view is even more important and those things are taking place. There is also the development of the Scottish Borders Campus jointly between Heriot-Watt and Borders College which creates new opportunities and draws people to them and I am strongly committed to the development of Crichton as a centre for the whole of Dumfries in Galloway which requires not just better transport links but also the possibility of better student facilities within the campus for the college and university students. There is much work being done and I have not even started to talk about the work in the Highlands and Islands which is of importance given the 13 colleges that work together in the Highlands and Islands to provide wide opportunities. Mike Mackenzie To ask the Scottish Government how the education system can be more closely aligned towards job and career opportunities. Cabinet Secretary. The Commission for Developing Scotland's Young Workforce published its report Education Working for All in June. The Scottish Government is fully supportive of the ambitious agenda for improving young people's employability set out in that report which I have referred to in answer to other questions today forging stronger links between schools, colleges and employers. Later in the year the Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women's Employment will publish our implementation plan to take forward the report's recommendations benefiting learners and the wider economy alike. Mike Mackenzie I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that answer and I wonder if he agrees with me that there is scope to fulfil suggestions made in the wood report in the S1 to S4 junior secondary model for education that some rural authorities use and that this is not incompatible with curriculum for excellence. Cabinet Secretary. I'm very happy to confirm with the members as I've done before, I believe in writing to other members in this chamber that there is no incompatibility with curriculum for excellence and delivery models such as junior secondary or small schools. That does not exist. Any contention that does exist, I'm afraid, is wholly false. The opportunity to have more diverse and richer models of delivery exists throughout Scotland and I would encourage all authorities including rural authorities to look at that diversity to make sure that the flexible framework for curriculum for excellence is used to support a range of possibilities that is young people in rural and in urban settings who will benefit. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to local authorities to ensure that there is suitable accommodation to deal with the projected increase in school roles. Cabinet Secretary. The statutory responsibility for the provision of adequate and sufficient school accommodation in Scotland lies with local authorities. That said, the Scottish Government is investing £800 million in Scotland's school estate to £5 billion in Scotland's schools for the future school building programme. I was very pleased and honoured to be involved in the opening of the new Merns academy in Lawrence Kirk just on Friday, a very good example of how that is working. Sarah Boyack. I thank the cabinet secretary for his reply. Edinburgh Council is considering introducing cluster-based learning though its strong preference is to build new accommodation. The cabinet secretary will be aware of the pressure on council budgets and given the demographic of the pressure in Edinburgh and the council's review of its school estate. Can the cabinet secretary update Parliament on what discussions he has had with the City of Edinburgh Council and what particular support his Government is providing to help to ensure the right capacity and the right quality in our school provision? Cabinet secretary. The decision on how local authorities organise and establish their provision is up to local authorities. I am sure that the member would defend the right of local authorities to make those decisions. However, my officials meet regularly with the City of Edinburgh Council. I myself have met on occasion with the City of Edinburgh councillors and I remain open to discussion about the school estate throughout Scotland. Obviously, in the week of the budget I don't want to say any more than that but there is a constant examination of the need to make sure that the highest quality accommodation is provided and also to make sure that those areas at under pressure are to help them. Question 18, Kevin Stewart. To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed education issues with Aberdeen City Council. Cabinet secretary. Scottish Government officials regularly meet with representatives of Aberdeen City Council to discuss a wide range of education issues. Kevin Stewart. Labour-led Aberdeen City Council are failing to improve conditions in Victorian schools in the city, which is leading to difficulties for pupils, teachers and other staff. In fact, they have just withdrawn funding that they had previously committed. What can the cabinet secretary do to ensure that Aberdeen City Council invests in schools like Ferry Hill, Broomhill, Ashley Road and Skeen Square in my constituency to make sure that they are fit for the 21st century? Cabinet secretary. Presiding Officer, Aberdeen City Council is currently receiving revenue funding of £125 million. It is the responsibility of Aberdeen City Council to allocate their total financial resources to all services, including school maintenance, on the basis of local needs and priorities. Aberdeen has been allocated an extra £7 million over the period 2012-15. As a result of the new 85 per cent funding floor formula, the Government introduced that ensures that Aberdeen gets a better deal than ever before. It will get a further £11.2 million in 2005-16. The Government is also investing £800 million in Scotland's school at state through the £1.25 billion Scotland schools for the future programme. Aberdeen City Council is already receiving more than £28 million from the Scottish Government through this programme to build replacements for the existing Buxburn and Newhills primaries and Torrey and Kincorth academies. There will be even further investment in school infrastructure through the extension to the NPD programme, further details of which will be announced in developing and building the school estate. That is the prime responsibility of local authorities which deliver education, but the Scottish Government is a willing partner where we are able to do so to ensure that that takes place. Thank you, question number 19, Jackson Carlaw. Somewhat to my surprise to be able to find myself able to ask the Scottish Government what its position is in independent schools having charitable status. Cabinet Secretary, Michael Russell. Presiding Officer, independent schools, will be able to ensure that the public benefit test is met and that, broadly speaking, as long as this test commands public confidence qualifying independent schools will maintain charitable status. Whether individual schools meet the test is, of course, a matter for Oscar. Jackson Carlaw. Can I commend the cabinet secretary and his ministerial team on the efficiency of the responses this afternoon and in that spirit? Ask what their attitude might be on that, cabinet secretary. That is an interesting possibility, I have to say. I think it was first booted by Brian Montieth when he was a member and a member of the Parliament's education committee which proves not only that the education team has efficient responses but also long memories. It is a matter which at the time was rejected. I think it may be a matter which we should at least get some information on in the future and if Mr Carlaw wants to provide some information to us on the virtues of that proposal then, of course, I will look at it. Briefly, Kezia Dugdale. Does the cabinet secretary think that the test is stringent enough? Cabinet secretary. That is a matter for the Parliament to decide as far as the legislation is concerned. I think that Oscar as a body has an obligation to meet the present legislation. Whether that legislation should change whether the test still commands public confidence will be matters that this chamber may wish to discuss at an appropriate time but at the present moment I am certainly not going to criticise Oscar they are putting in place the test as it exists. That ends the question time next side to business is a statement by Keith Brown in the future of Scotland.