 I remind members of the Covid-related measures that are in place and that face covering should be worn when moving around the chamber and across the Holyrood campus. The first item of business is portfolio questions, and the first portfolio question is on justice and veterans. As ever, if a member wishes to request a supplementary question, they should press the request to speak button or indicate so in the chat function by entering the letter R during the relevant question. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the review of the victim notification scheme. We will commence the review of the victim notification scheme early next year to ensure that it is serving victims effectively. That was agreed by the victim's task force in March and we continue to engage with partners to develop the review. The task force's preference was for the review to be led by an independent chairperson supported by a working group of representatives from the organisations who operate the scheme and victims organisations and we intend to proceed on this basis. The detailed approach and remit are being considered with matters likely to include possible extension to the scope, information sharing between agencies and links to the task force's work on developing a victim-centred approach. Cabinet Secretary, shockingly, Victim Support Scotland has highlighted multiple suicide attempts by victims as a result of a letter notifying them that the perpetrator involved in their case is going to be released. The organisation believes that the scheme is not fit for purpose and that the need for a review has never been greater. The Scottish Government has ditherd and delayed, but the Scottish Conservatives have committed to the reform of the victim notification scheme as part of our victims' law. Does the cabinet secretary support those proposals? In relation to victims generally, what is really important is to make sure that we reduce the number of victims that are in society. Having far more police officers per capita than elsewhere in the UK paying them a wage increase, achieving some of the lowest-recorded levels of crime, is very important in reducing the number of victims. It is also true to say that we think that a number of areas in relation to victims should be looked at. That is why, as the member says, the review has never been more appropriate. That is why we are taking forward a review. It will cover all aspects of victims' elements in the justice system. It will have the intention of ensuring that, right across the justice system, it becomes much more victim-centred and trauma-informed. That is a short thing to say, but it is a big goal to have in mind. That is the goal of the Scottish Government to make sure that we achieve that. If we do that, we will further improve some of the changes that we have made in recent years to improve the way that we treat victims in that justice system. To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives and programmes are available to ensure that the voices of victims are represented throughout the justice process. I thank the member for a question and say that I have just mentioned that we intend to have a victim-centred approach. Within that, of course, we recognise the importance of ensuring that victims' voices are heard. That includes representation on the victims' task force and on the renew, recover and transform advisory group and reference groups, where victims and survivors share their experiences and expertise to help to inform policy and practice. We have also legislated to strengthen victims' rights and their voices from the introduction of the victims code and the standards of service to the strengthening of victim notification and victim statement schemes. We recognise that more can be done and we will continue to work with partners to improve the experience of victims. To ask the Scottish Government what training is given to the police force to identify potential victims of modern slavery involved in organised crime. Any form of human trafficking or exploitation is, of course, completely unacceptable. The training and development of officers and the operational delivery of policing is, of course, a matter for the chief counsel. However, Police Scotland has informed me that the national human trafficking unit undertakes human trafficking training on various courses at the Scottish Police College throughout the year and Police Scotland's human trafficking champions disseminate briefing and guidance to local officers. In addition, the unseen app, which was recently introduced within Police Scotland, can be accessed by operational officers on their mobile devices. The app provides a wealth of information on modern slavery and exploitation and clearly explains the indicators of human trafficking and exploitation and what to look for. I thank the minister for her response. Charities and NGOs are aware that victims of modern slavery, including teenagers, are often involved in drug and knife crime and have been exploited by groomers and gangs. What processes are in place to ensure that the burden of criminality is not misplaced on victims of modern slavery, and will new funding for victim support help provide routes out of modern slavery in these circumstances? Where is believed that a child or young person under 18 is a victim of exploitation or human trafficking? An immediate child protection response is required, with police officers trained to undertake relevant procedures such as interagency referral discussion. Police Scotland has clear guidance in place to ensure that dual investigation of suspected criminal activity and potential human trafficking that may have led to that offence being committed. Decisions regarding prosecutions are for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The Lord Advocate has published instructions regarding the presumption against prosecution of persons who are the victims of trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour and who have committed offences as a consequence of that. A key priority of the new victim-centred approach fund is to provide support and assistance to adult victims of human trafficking, to help them recover and to help them begin to rebuild their lives. Modern slavery is an appalling crime, more so when the victim is being used by criminal gangs, but to tackle it we must understand the scale of it. Is the Minister comfortable that the current national referral mechanism data that we use gives the level of accuracy that Police Scotland needs to tackle that crime? My recent PQ on the very question seems to imply that no-one really knows how many people are enslaved in modern Scotland. The member is completely right. That is an appalling crime. The data that we have is the data that we are using. We have seen the numbers. Obviously, this year is slightly down on what they were on the previous year, but Covid is having an impact on that. I would say that, in general, this type of crime can be quite hidden and that is of the nature of it. Potentially, sometimes we are not always going to see figures reflecting what is happening on the ground. However, the Scottish Government is working with a wide range of partners. We have the Serious Organised Crime Task Force, and we have the strategy as well. That aims to reduce the harms that are caused by Serious Organised Crime and its involvement in human trafficking. However, if the member would like to meet me to discuss this any further, I would be happy to do that. To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the views of victims and survivors are considered by Community Justice Scotland and the Justice Board for Scotland and its subgroups. The Justice Board, of which Community Justice Scotland is a member, undertakes a wide range of engagement activity to ensure that the views of victims and survivors are taken into account. Justice Board members are represented on the victims task force alongside representatives from victims support organisations and are victims representative, ensuring that the work of the task force is directly informed by the experiences of victims. That includes Community Justice Scotland, which co-leads the trauma-informed workshop workstream. Victims organisations are also represented in a number of justice board subgroups, including those relating to Covid-19, the Recovery and New Transform programme and the recovery of community justice and preventing offending group. Out with the Justice Board, Community Justice Scotland has a statutory role to assess the extent to which national community justice outcomes are achieved. I recently noted that community justice partners are closely linked to victim support services and that supporting victims is a high priority locally. Can I thank the cabinet secretary for his reply? I would like to explore in a little more detail how victims voices are actually taken into account in both strategic and operational discussions. The victims task force recently discussed victims voices and there is a concern across the support organisations that the people they support that on the rare occasions when views or feedback are sought, there is little follow-up. There is no communication about what is done with their views, what happens as a result of their feedback, and I know that the RRT advisory group has also discussed that. Can I ask the cabinet secretary what more can be done to restore victims, witnesses and survivors' confidence that their feedback is valued and their voices are being heard and acted upon in a way that is not wasting their time and re-traumatising? I would have to refer to what currently happens. Along with the work of the victims task force, my officials and representatives of the Crown Office and the Fiscal Service and the Scottish Courts and Tribunial Service meet monthly with victims support organisations and provide feedback on how their input is helping to shape our approach to making improvements in the justice system and aid recovery. An advisory group, including victims support organisations, was established to provide the criminal justice board with independent expert advice on the potential impacts that could arise for those who are going through the justice system, and members of the criminal justice board have, in turn, attended the advisory group to feedback on the advice that they have received. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide date on the victim surcharge fund. The victim surcharge fund reopened for applications on 7 December 2021 with a closing date of 14 January 2022. Allocations will be announced in February 2022 at least £165,000 is available in this round. Five organisations shared £157,000 earlier this year, and that money has been used to provide direct practical help to victims from the fund. The victim surcharge fund initial report for 2019-21 was published on 1 October. A copy is available in Switzerland. The report provides information on payments made into and out of the fund, and information on the collection of the victim surcharges published in Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services quarterly fines reports. In its 2016 manifesto, the SNP promised that the victim surcharge fund would deliver £1 million of extra funding a year to go towards victim organisations. However, so far it has only paid out £157,000 in two years of operation. Furthermore, the cabinet secretary's recent announcement that the latest round of funding will only deliver £165,000 will further add to the disappointment of victims. Can the cabinet secretary answer why this fund has fallen so far short of what was promised to victims of crime? I think that there is perhaps a misunderstanding on the part of Mr Carson as to how the fund is to work. The amount raised is entirely dependent on the number and value of fines imposed by the courts, and it will always take a number of years for the fund to build up. Only individuals or organisations who have been cautioned after November 2019 are affected, and their cases will take time progressing through the court. You will, of course, know the impact of the pandemic on the court system. It is true to say that the collection rate for victim surcharges in Scotland is 79 per cent, which compares favourably with the collection rate in England and Wales, which is 61 per cent. Notwithstanding the pandemic, we expect the amount that can be paid out to victims organisations to increase in future years. There are many victim support organisations across the country who do valuable work to assist victims of crime. How much has the victim surcharge supported such organisation within the Clydebank and Magai constituency since its introduction? I would say that we were in a very fortunate position of being able to fund all of the organisations that are applied for the first round of the fund, and details of those organisations can be found in the initial report, and they are included in Victim Support Scotland, which offers support on a national basis. Individuals and families that access support from the fund through those organisations came from a range of localities across Scotland. We do not break that data down by constituency. However, Victim Support organisations throughout Scotland are welcome to apply to the second round of funding. 5. Liam McArthur I ask the Scottish Government what update it can provide on delivering forensic examination services for children and young people in island and rural communities. Child Centered and Trauma-informed healthcare is at the centre of the current pediatric services that are provided to children and young people in Scotland who experience child sexual abuse. The national pathway for clinicians supporting children who have experienced child sexual abuse was published in November 2020, and it makes clear that the wellbeing of the child is paramount through each step of the process. 6. Liam McArthur I thank all those who have helped in establishing a service that allows adult survivors of rape and sexual assault in Orkney to be examined without having to be flown off the islands. I recognise the added complexities in delivering forensic examinations on children and young people, but I am concerned that even efforts to explore how telehealth might be used to support the examination of a child who has experienced physical neglect rather than sexual abuse have been halted due to problems with the admissibility of images captured in this way. I ask the cabinet secretary to speak to the Lord Advocate to establish how any concerns might be overcome so that such an option can be tested and put in place for children and young people in my constituency. 7. Liam McArthur I thank the member for his question and say that I am happy to take that up with both the Lord Advocate and I would imagine the cabinet secretary for health as well, given that telehealth is the subject of the discussion. A very important point, I think that there has been substantial improvements which I think the member has previously acknowledged in relation to adult services, but there is a continued need to work on how we make sure that we have the same level of service for children, but I am more than happy to take up the issues with the Lord Advocate and the cabinet secretary for health as the member has outlined. 6. Stephanie Callaghan I ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update in this year's review of the Justice, Vision and Priorities delivery plan. The Scottish Government published a report in March 2021 highlighting the key achievements in justice since the publication of Justice in Scotland, Vision and Priorities. This report summarised the progress that has been made and highlighted the key achievements under the seven Justice priorities since 2017. The report also describes the impact of Covid-19 on policy development and on the justice system. The Justice, Vision and Priorities ran from 2017 to 2020, and it is due to be refreshed. Our new vision for justice will be published in the new year and will seek to build on the lessons that we have learned so far. 7. Stephanie Callaghan I thank the cabinet secretary for his response. The report made us aware of the impact of Covid-19 on the justice sector. What steps has the Scottish Government taken to help the sector going forward in its recovery from the pandemic? I am sure that the member will be aware of some of the efforts made by the Scottish Government as it continues to support justice agencies to take action to address the backlog caused by the Covid pandemic and to minimise the impact on all court users. As part of the recent budget announcement and in the continued absence of any apparent Covid funding from the UK Government, we announced significant funding increases for the justice portfolio, funding that is required to deal with the backlog and to support community justice services in recovering from the pandemic. We have established a justice recovery fund for the next financial year of £53.2 million to be allocated to recovery, renewal and transformation activity across the justice system, including the ability to maintain enhanced court capacity and remote jury centres. That builds on the additional £50 million this financial year, which, by way of a tangible example, helped to deliver the setting up of 16 additional solemn and summary courts from September. To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to enact sections 5 to 7 of the Management of Offenders Scotland Act 2019. The provisions in sections 5 to 7 of part 1 of the act relate to making electronic monitoring a condition of licence. Electronic monitoring is already a feature of post-release sentence management as a condition of licence for uses such as home detention curfew. The Pro-Board currently has an ability to recommend licence conditions that can include an element of electronic monitoring. A number of provisions of the act have already been commenced and the next set of commencement regulations planned for the act will likely now be early 2022. Oliver Mundell, I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Those sections of the Management of Offenders Act 2019 that I mentioned would allow exclusion zones to be imposed on criminals when they are released on licence. Does the cabinet secretary agree with Scottish Conservative proposals to allow victims to request these exclusion zones? I think that there are two ways in which the suggestion made by the member can be taken forward. Of course, we can look at that in relation to victims, but we also have to look at it in terms of the practical impacts of electronic monitoring, and especially where that requires GPS. Further work has been undertaken currently with justice partners on the latter point, and I will ensure that the formal point in which the member mentions is covered in terms of the victims' review that I mentioned earlier. Can I ask the cabinet secretary what impact does Scottish Government's focus on early intervention, prevention and rehabilitation have had on efforts to reduce the use of imprisonment? It has had a very substantial impact. We have people generally serving longer sentences in prison now, but far fewer serving sentences, of course, of less than 18 months because of legislation previously passed. Other interventions that have taken place under the terms of the Scottish Government have helped to deal with the situation that the member mentions, but we are also very conscious that more needs to be done, not least in relation to some of the proposals in their bail and release bill, which is currently out for consultation. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for people calling Police Scotland's non-emergency 101 phone line. As the member will be aware, delivery of the Police 101 service is a matter for Police Scotland, and Police Scotland has, and continues to play a crucial role in protecting and supporting our communities through the pandemic. They, alongside all sectors, have been impacted by their own Covid-related absences. I regularly meet the chief constable who updates me on the contingency plan to make sure that calls for 9.99 contingency to be answered in less than 10 seconds, and that resilience plans are in place to meet the peak in calls to 101 at this extremely busy time. I thank the minister for his response. I think that we are all conscious of the impact that Covid has had right across the public service, but even before that I had many concerns from constituents about the time that it was taking to get a response on the 101 non-emergency service, and those concerns will just be highlighted and extended due to the current situation with Covid. Is the justice secretary engaging with Police Scotland about the possibility of bringing in more resource for the 101 number to make sure that people are not having to wait, in some cases for half an hour and more, to get the phone answered? Yes, I do engage with Police Scotland. I spoke to the chief constable about this issue just last week. Deployment of resources in the police service is a matter for Police Scotland and for the SPA, and they are doing exactly what Murdo Fraser has suggested in terms of allocating more resource. The member is right, and I know that he is engaged with the police directly on the issue to raise his concern, but I would also point to the more recent figures for October last year, which have shown a substantial improvement. It is worth bearing in mind also that the Police Scotland function on 101 is often picking up calls that would normally go to other agencies, in many cases local authorities and care services, and that is an additional burden that they are having to cope with at the same time as the Covid-related absences that I mentioned. It is a matter that I will continue to discuss with Police Scotland, and I am sure that they have heard the suggestion from Murdo Fraser today. That concludes portfolio questions on justice and veterans, and there will be a very short pause before we move to the next item of business. The next portfolio is finance and economy. As ever, if a member wishes to ask a supplementary question, they should press the request-to-speak buttons or place an arm of chat function during the relevant question. I call question number one, Emma Harper. I ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated in its draft budget for 2022-23 for building social and affordable housing in the Fries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders. Well, our draft budget increases funding for affordable housing by £174 million, bringing the total investment next year to £831 million, and the total investment across this Parliament to £3.6 billion. We have not yet allocated the additional £174 million, but existing five-year planning assumptions will see all local authority areas benefiting from increases in funding compared to the previous Parliament. In terms of specific investment in Dumfries and Galloway, that is £15 million higher at £106 million, and investment in the Scottish Borders is £17 million higher at £82 million. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Recently, I visited passive housing in Dalton, near Lockerbie. Passive housing is hugely beneficial in reducing energy bills for residents in tackling our fight against the climate emergency. There is evidence to suggest that it can be beneficial for health due to the air filtration. Can the cabinet secretary therefore comment on whether any funding in the budget is being used to explore building social and affordable houses to meet the passive housing standard? The member raises an important point, and I would be happy to explore those issues further with her. The affordable housing supply programme and the social housing net zero heat fund have and can continue to support the delivery of homes to passive house standards in urban, rural and island communities across the country, including in Dumfries and Galloway. We are continuing to take very rapid action to increase the energy efficiency of new homes and to modernise construction, and we recently consulted on improvements to the high energy standards in building regulations. The consultation included an option that approaches the level of specification associated with passive house. I'm Bruce Supplementary, Finlay Carthon. Becker today is not good. Since 2016, the SNP promised to build 50,000 affordable homes, and you failed to meet that target. The SNP minister spent less than half the £25 million budget that was allocated to rural housing funds. 11.4 million of that funding delivers just 59 affordable homes. Why should the people in rural Scotland trust that they can deliver this time round? There are many criticisms that can be levelled at Government, but our commitment to building affordable housing is not one of them. The member will know, as I do, in representing rural housing, that the amount of housing that has been built over the past five years considerably exceeds the amount of housing that was built prior to that. Planned investment in Ffries and Galloway is almost £24 million in the current year alone, and we will enable an estimated 172 affordable homes to start on site and an estimated 166 homes to complete all-for-social rent. Those are not small figures. They are hugely important, and they are a cornerstone in terms of our rural communities. Question 2 is not lodged. Question 3, James Dornan, who joins us remotely. To ask the Scottish Government what support is being provided to the retail hospitality and leisure businesses. Minister Ivan McKee, who also joins us remotely. Thank the member for that question. We recognise, of course, the difficulties that Omicron brings for businesses and their employees, which is why we are providing £275 million impact to the necessary additional public health measures. That funding includes the £100 million that was announced last week that was directly impacted during that trading period, which provides £66 million to the hospitality sector and £8 million for the food and drink supply chain, including wholesalers. An update will be provided on the allocation of that funding as soon as possible. The budget also continues support for the retail hospitality and leisure sectors, having a 50 per cent rate relief for the first three months of 2022-23, capped at £27,500 per rate per hour, as well as the lowest poundage in the UK for a fourth year in a row and a total relief package worth an estimated £802 million. I thank the minister for that answer. I welcome the significant additional funding to support businesses that have been announced by the Scottish Government. I also recognise that we cannot go far enough to fully compensate for the substantial impact of Omicron within the restrictive resources that are currently available to the Scottish Government. Does the minister agree that businesses now need the scale of financial support that they received earlier on the pandemic and that that can only come from the UK Government, which is the necessary borrowing powers that the Scottish Government does not? Absolutely. We know the scale and urgency of the Omicron challenge requires financial support for businesses and their employees on a scale similar to that at the start of the pandemic, and how we have announced significant funding for businesses to deal with the impact of Omicron totalling £375 million more proportionally than the chance that it has announced for the UK as a whole. It is worth noting that that will not fully compensate businesses and their staff. That is why we continue to call on the UK Government to put the necessary support schemes in place, including furlough to protect workers, given that the current UK funding arrangements mean only the treasury as the borrowing powers to provide support on such a scale. I will take two brief supplementaries. They are both from members who are remote. I would appreciate succinct questions and a succinct answer as possible. First, Paul Sweeney. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The minister will be aware of the problems being faced by the travel sector, particularly those with retail stores in Glasgow-based to Barherd travel, the largest travel agent in Scotland and an employer of over 500 people contacted me this week to say that their business has been badly hit by the recent announcements. However, as of yet, there has been no indication of specific support from the Government. What discussions have been had with the travel industry about extending support to them? Will he meet me and representatives of Barherd travel to hear first hand how the lack of support from the Government is suffocating one of Glasgow's biggest companies? Let the member know that I have met representatives of Barherd travel along with other businesses in the travel sector previously to understand the extent of the challenge that they are facing. That is a very difficult time for the sector. I continue to meet regularly with representatives of the sector, as does my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, who meets businesses right across a wider hospitality, leisure and travel sector with regards to the level of support that is available. The member will be aware, because I have just spoken about it and the First Minister announced yesterday that he did £375 million in total that has been made available to support businesses, including businesses in the travel sector. There was a specific mention of the travel sector in the context of the first £100 million in the details of that. The detail of how that will be distributed and how the other £175 million will be distributed has been worked through at pace with representatives and will be communicated as soon as we have the final details on that. I have to say that that was neither a brief question nor a brief answer. Let's see if we can do better. Willie Rennie The minister just mentioned furlough, but for how long should that scheme be in place? Because workers are struggling, should there be a furlough scheme every time there is a new wave of the virus? What kind of hands has he got for supporting workers who are really struggling? The member makes a good point. Furlough scheme should be introduced when it is necessary for affected sectors. Given the restrictions that, for good public health measures, are having to be put in place at the moment for hospitality leisure, travelling, tourism and other heavily affected sectors, we think that the UK Government, at this point in time, should put in place a furlough scheme that supports workers in those sectors. We are doing what we can to support businesses, but without the employment data that only the UK Government has, we are in a very difficult position with regard to supporting workers directly. That is why we are calling on the UK Government to step up to the plate and put in place a scheme that supports those affected workers at this difficult time. Brian Whittle To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish official commission's report that anticipates a funding shortfall of £190 million in 2022-23, driven by a slower growth in employment in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK. The Scottish Fiscal Commission and the OBR have stated that the continued uncertainty around the pandemic means that there is going to be more volatility than usual in their forecasts. The final position, which is important on the performance of income tax revenues next year, will only be known once outturned data is published in 2024. However, the problem within the fiscal framework is that strong earnings growth in London and the south-east means that our budget can be reduced, even while earnings growth in Scotland has increased in every year since tax devolution prior to the pandemic and rising inequality elsewhere in the UK could not see Scotland's budget reduced. That needs to be addressed in the upcoming fiscal framework review. Brian Whittle I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, but she will be aware that the Scottish Fiscal Commission's forecast also shows that, by 2026-27, the shortfall could be as much as £417 million, and that indicates that there are serious issues within the Scottish economy. Can I ask the cabinet secretary what she and the Scottish Government are doing to address that? I thank the member for posing the question, because we need to get beneath the headline figures. The Scottish Fiscal Commission estimates that the Scottish Government's decisions on income tax since 2017-18 add around £552 million to tax receipts next year, compared with following UK Government income tax policies. That implies that the Scottish budget could have been £742 million worse off next year if it were not for the tax policies. However, on the specifics of the Scottish economy, the sexual composition of the Scottish economy will likely be a contributing factor. We rely on receipts from the oil and gas industry, where activity has been slowing in recent years, and that has an impact disproportionately in the Scottish economy. Even a small reduction in pay and employment in the sector has a large effect on revenues. Conversely, the rest of the UK relies more heavily on receipts from the financial services sector, where pay growth has been strong. We need to get behind the numbers to understand what is going on in the Scottish economy. To brief supplementaries, they are both in the chamber, so I can eyeball them first, Jim Fairlie. I am making the cabinet secretary aware that I have been contacted by Glanegals hotel, Cree Hydro and Simon Howey, all important businesses in my constituency. They have told me that, to operate at full capacity, they need to be able to close a shortfall in staff of up to 25 per cent, and they want to be able to recruit from beyond our borders to do so. I wrote on their behalf to the UK Government that the reply was negative. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that this is another area where this Parliament needs the powers to legislate so that we can manage the challenges that industries face to promote growth in our industries? Not really a supplementary question, cabinet secretary. The member is right in saying that businesses' biggest challenge over the last few months that you cannot have missed is the labour market shortages. That is driven almost entirely by the removal of the freedom of movement. The UK immigration system is failing to meet the needs of Scotland's employers. Ultimately, without full control over economic and immigration policy, which the UK Government refuses to give us, we do not have the powers to resolve the labour market shortage and allow business to grow. The cabinet secretary is absolutely right that we have to get behind the numbers, but it shows that Scotland's earnings increases are not just lagging London and the south-east, but every single other devolved nation and every single other English region. Why is it that we have still to receive the so-called 10-year economic plan that was promised by the end of the year? Why has it been delayed and when will it be published? The member and I had extensive dialogue on this yesterday at the Finance Committee, so I will not go into the detail now. On the specific questions, the member will hopefully appreciate that business right now is struggling and there is a challenge in terms of publishing a 10-year strategy when businesses are looking for financial support next year. We have been working with the advisory council. The strategy is in a very good place. My hope is that we can publish as quickly and as soon as possible, but I think that we need to ensure that there is as much space and capacity for all of Scotland's economy and economic actors to participate. Perhaps in the grip of a new variant, now is not quite the time. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact in small businesses of non-domestic rates being reintroduced after the first three months of the new financial year. Tom Arthur joins us remotely. We are extending the retail hospitality and leisure relief by 50 per cent for the first three months of 2022-23, up to 27,500 pounds per rate player. We are also maintaining the UK's most generous small business bonus scheme by taking more than 111,000 properties out of rates altogether. Throughout the pandemic, we have consistently delivered more direct support to businesses than we have received in consequentials. Yesterday, the First Minister confirmed additional funding to deliver a package of support worth a total of £375 million. On the basis of the Parliament formula, that is equivalent to the Chancellor confirming a £4.6 billion support package, in contrast with the £1 billion that he did announce. The Scottish hospitality group has said that removing the 50 per cent business rates relief just three months into the new financial year could not, I quote, spell the end for many hard-pressed Scottish hospitality businesses. FSB said that there is a compelling case to further extended duration and level this relief, especially if we are not out of the woods by spring. Will the Scottish Government listen to Scotland's small businesses, rethink the budget and extend that business rates relief to a full year as labour and businesses are consistently calling for? Of course, one of the key asks of business prior to the budget was to avoid a cliff edge on 31 March. That is what this 50 per cent relief for the first quarter delivers. It is also important to consider the broader package of support that is being provided. For the fourth year now, we will have the lowest poundage of anywhere in the UK. 95 per cent of properties liable for non-domestic rates will pay a lower property tax in Scotland and the wood elsewhere in the UK. Of course, the small business bonus scheme continues to deliver no rates for over 100,000 businesses across Scotland. That has to be seen in the context. We were the first part of the UK to extend 100 per cent relief for retail hospitality and leisure for all of 2122, something that was not replicated in England, for example. We have listened and taken this proportionate and balanced decision in the context of the challenging budget settlement. We are responding in haste to the current Covid on the Crown crisis by providing support, totaling £375 million. Can the minister outline what assessment has been made of the 100 per cent rates relief available to Scottish hospitality businesses compared to the rates relief in England, which is now limited to 66 per cent relief? Does he agree that the Scottish Government's on-going, higher level of business support, which continues to be available to businesses now and right through to April 2022, has been and continues to provide vital business support through this winter period of disruption? Yes, more needs to be done, but that is a strong foundation. Thank you. Of course, as is something Fiona Hyslop that will well understand, it has never been possible to provide all the support that businesses needed during these challenging times. However, as the only Government to offer uncapturally since the start of the Covid pandemic and an unprecedented reduction in the poundage, we have been there for businesses where needed is most. We have proved this again just yesterday when the First Minister announced a total package of £375 million of direct business support. Could I ask the minister how the Scottish Government is responding to requests from the business community to have long-term reform to the structure of business rates? I should be aware that we have a co-undate with First of April next year and a revaluation in the following April. We will listen closely to the call for business, but the immediate priority is to provide stability in the non-domestic rate system, so that is something that we are going to do over the coming period. However, I am, of course, happy later on in this parliamentary session to have further discussions with members who wish to bring forward concrete proposals for the tight and nature of reform that they would wish to see. 6. Fulton MacGregor, who joins us remotely. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what further financial support it considers maybe necessary to assist the hospitality sector as the Covid-19 pandemic continues. We recognise the difficulties that Omicron brings for businesses and their employees, which provide about £75 million to support sectors that are impacted by the additional necessary public. That funding includes the £100 million that was announced last week, which was directly impacted during this key trading period. That includes £66 million for the hospitality sector. An update will be provided on the breakdown and allocation of funding as soon as possible. However, the support that we are providing to businesses is significant. Businesses clearly need large-scale financial support, such as a furlough scheme that can only come from the UK Government, which has borrowing powers that the Scottish Government does not. We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to urgently provide support similar to that that was available earlier in the pandemic. Fulton MacGregor. I thank the minister for that response. Just last night, I was contacted by a constituent who operates SDLS Danceware shop in Co-bridge, the only one in North Lanarkshire. The cancellations of dance events and pantomimes following the announcement yesterday has absolutely devastated our income so close to Christmas. Can I ask what support the Government intends to give businesses, such as my constituents, that are more indirectly impacted by supplying the sectors that are most hit by the current restrictions? We know how difficult the necessary additional public health restrictions are for businesses, including the event sector and, very importantly, the supply chain. That is how we are providing that £375 million support to businesses that are impacted by those restrictions. That includes £100 million that was directly impacted during the key trading period last week. An update will be provided on the breakdown and allocation of the rest of that funding as soon as possible. While that is significant funding, of course, we understand that it will not fully compensate business. The scale and urgency of the Omicron challenge requires financial support for business. As I have said on a scale, similar to that, I put in place at the start of the pandemic. Given the current UK funding arrangements, where only the Treasury has the borrow and provide power to provide support on such a scale, it is absolutely vital that the UK Government steps up and provides that additional support at this time. I draw attention to my register of interests. Small businesses risk going down due to the SNP Government. The NFUS said this morning that it has serious worries about the impact of short-term let licensing to Scotland's rural economy. Even Fergus Ewing agrees with 60 per cent of respondents to a local government committee survey that strongly opposed the licensing scheme. Will the minister agree that the SNP Government should ditch those damaging plans to short-term let accommodating providers to prevent the knock-on impact to small rural businesses reliant on tourism and battered by the Covid regulation? To be honest, I think that the question is being very far from the original question, but I shall answer it anyway. The Government believes that we should move ahead as planned with the licensing of a short-term let. My colleague Shorar Obson is taking forward those proposals. We have listened extensively to sector and I have had several meetings with the sector to understand our concerns. Many of those concerns have been addressed, but the principle of the licensing regime is the right thing to do. We will be taking it forward with changes made as a consequence of listening very closely to the concerns of the sector. I think that relevance is for the chair to decide. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on its commitment to increase the number of employee-owned businesses in Scotland to 500 by 2030. An independent inquiry into employee ownership recognised that, as of March 2019, Scotland is leading away with 111 of the 370 employee-owned businesses in the UK. Scottish Enterprise records show that there are now approximately 120 employee-owned businesses headquartered in Scotland, with around 170 operating in the country. In the minister's response, I would appreciate if he could put a number on how many have increased in Scotland in the past year, which was the original point of the question. I do anticipate that there is a slight increase, but if the target of 500s to be reached by 2030, we really need to step up work on that. It is fair to say that Cooperative Development Scotland is the Cinderella service of Scottish Enterprise, yet evidence shows that cooperatives are more resilient to exactly what we need in these uncertain times. Can the minister state the budget commitments that are to achieving the target, and can I ask if there are interim targets that can accelerate the pace of change? I thank the member for the supplementary question. We are supporting and she is correct to develop CDS within Scottish Enterprise, who, on the industry leadership group that I co-chair, is the ministerial co-chair, and we are working constructively with partners across the employee-owned sector to increase the number of employee-owned businesses in Scotland, including the number of employee-owned businesses that are headquartered in Scotland. As this is an important piece of work, it is a bigger part of a community well-building agenda, and we are making very good progress. We have also recognised in recent meetings of the group that there has been a significant uptake of the number of organisations transitioning to employee ownership, not just in Scotland, but across the UK. There is a real moment here that we can capitalise upon. CDS has been supported to do that in partnership through the ILG, and I am looking forward to taking that work forward and I have been more than happy to meet Ms Baker if she would like to discuss the matter further. Pam Gothalwood joins us remotely. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with relevant stakeholders regarding the recent budget. The Scottish Government and me personally engaged with a wide range of stakeholders in advance of the budget being published, including local government, trade unions, business groups, as well as there being wider portfolio dialogue on their respective interests. That engagement is part of our efforts to promote transparency and to inform decision making. We, for example, met with tax professionals, business representatives, civil society organisations, research institutes and others, and ran a consultation process on how we should use our tax powers as part of the budget. Pam Gothalwood. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. With a cut of £1.1 million to drug services, a £2 million real-term cut to prisons and a £371 million real-term cut to local authorities. In my region, Western Bartonshire Council faces a funding gap for around £7 million, not to mention a £2 million cut to attainment challenge fund in the region with some of the highest child poverty rates in the country. Can the cabinet secretary explain why, despite the highest block grant funding since the evolution, the Scottish Government is cutting vital funds for public services? Can I suggest to the member that, rather than spinning the line that this is the biggest budget ever, perhaps some of the comments that she has made reveals just how challenging this budget is. We have had all Covid consequentials stripped out of the budget, despite the fact that we are dealing with a variant right now and that Covid will continue to have an impact. We are having to absorb all of that in next year's budget within the block grant. In terms of the specific lines that she has referenced, the budget, just to take drugs support, for example, includes £61 million specifically to address drug misuse, which is part of our commitment to invest £250 million over the lifetime of this Parliament. However, the impact of the highest inflationary rate seen in a number of years, alongside the on-going impact of Covid, means that this has been a hugely challenging budget to deal with. If the member would like me to increase any budget line at all, any at all, I would look forward to her telling me where it should come from. Can the minister advise the chamber, if Ms Gosal has contacted her, to suggest how much more on resources the Scottish Government should provide for the additional expenditures that she seeks and how they should be paid for, either by transfers from other budget lines or increased taxation? The member has not to date. I have obviously been engaging with the Conservatives and spoke person on this. All parties have made a lot of asks. No party has told me what taxes to increase or what to cut. That concludes that portfolio. We will now move on to the next portfolio, which is education and skills. Again, if a member wishes to ask a supplementary, he could ask them to press the request-to-speak buttons. I will place an R in the chat function during the relevant question. I call question number one, which is from Gillian Martin, who joins us remotely. To ask the Scottish Government what plans have been put in place for the 2022 goal examinations. As confirmed in August, we are planning for exams to take place in 2022. Significant modifications have already been made to course assessments, both exams and coursework, to take into account disruption to learning. Contingency plans are also in place, as is outlined by the SQA in August and in more detail in September, to offset any further significant national disruption arising from Covid. That approach provides the flexibility to adapt to any increased levels of disruption to learning at a national level. Thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Obviously, since the cabinet secretary indicated, as she said, that physical exams would take place in 2022, the Omicron variant has arrived and public health advice is adapting to that. What reassurances can the cabinet secretary provide that Scottish Government priority will continue to be keeping our children at young people and school staff safe? Gillian Martin would quite rightly expect the safety of children, young people and education staff remains our overriding priority, while minimising any further disruption to learning where at all possible. The Scottish Government regularly reviews the guidance in light of emerging scientific evidence, and the advice and refresh school guidance was, indeed, most recently published on Friday, 17 December. That was informed by the education recovery group and, of course, the advisory subgroup on education and children's issues, and the details of the enhancements to existing mitigations do, obviously, reflect the change in balance of risks following the emergence of the Omicron variant. Of course, as the member would expect, we will keep that under regular review. Yesterday, the First Minister said that schools would open as normal in the new year. As parents and teachers have been pointing out to me since, things are far from normal in our schools. Schools and classes have been closing for weeks, disruption is widespread. Maintaining an exam diet will require new action from this Government. What new approaches will the cabinet secretary take on ventilation, testing, staffing and digital learning to ensure that our children have a fighting chance of sitting in these exams? I would point to the guidance that I referred to in my answer to Gillian Martin, which deals with ventilation, testing and staffing. We are very clear that we need to continue to look at what is happening across Scotland. At this point, my message would be absolutely one to thank teachers and the sports staff for everything that they have done and will continue to do in the new year, and to ask everyone to play their part in ensuring that we keep the Omicron variant as low as possible, allowing as little disruption to education as possible. The cabinet secretary has committed to the reform of qualifications in the future, and she said in particular that she is going to develop a shared purpose and principles for Scotland's assessment and qualification system from November until February. Can she set out what public, particularly teacher engagement, has been to develop the shared purpose now? We are still in the middle of ensuring that we are doing the consultation that Mr Rennie would expect us to do, including with unions and with teacher representatives, to ensure that we are looking at the purpose and principles in a wide as way as possible. I absolutely share—I think that Mr Rennie's purpose of his question is to ensure that practitioners are deeply involved in this. I can reassure him that absolutely we will be both in the initial stages and in the work that will be taken forward by Professor Louise Hayward, while of course the work that she undertakes is for her to direct herself. The member is not in the chamber, so question number three, Alexander Stewart, who joins us remotely. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update of the efforts that are being made to close the poverty-release detainment gap. Closing the poverty-release detainment gap remains a key focus for this Government. Through our record investment of £1 billion, we continue to fund and empower headteachers in 97 per cent of schools to support their pupils' most impacted by poverty. Recognising the impact of poverty and the pandemic on children and young people across Scotland from next year, as well as continued investment in the pupil equity funding, while 32 local authorities will be funded to tackle the poverty-related detainment gap. This funding will empower schools and local councils to drive education recovery and to accelerate progress in tackling the poverty-related detainment gap. Those allocations have been confirmed on a multi-year basis for the first time from 2022-23 until 25-26. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Clackmannanshire in my region has been a beneficiary of additional funding through the Scottish detainment challenge, but whilst Clackmannanshire will receive £1.3 million in additional detainment funds next year, by 25-26, it will be cut to less than half a million. Does the cabinet secretary believe that the most effective way of improving the prospects of children in Clackmannanshire is to strip over £800,000 of detainment funding from their schools? Our decision to share the investment over the 32 local authorities is a recognition that poverty is in all our communities across Scotland and the impact of the pandemic is shared right across Scotland. We have been asked to look at this in particular, and it is supported by COSLA, as we went forward with our changes to the programme. If Mr Stewart thinks that we should be doing something different, he can perhaps advise me about which other councils in his region will receive funding for the first time that I should cut. Teachers are often asked for two stars in a wish. One star this year must go to our young people and their families, and another star should go to the staff of our schools, early learning and colleges. My wish is that this Government get a grasp on the education crisis that is going on. Can the cabinet secretary tell me what percentage of pupils in Scotland have a Government laptop or device this Christmas? The member will know that we made significant investment in the initial stages of the pandemic to ensure that that was distributed. I will be happy to provide the member with updated figures for that. Of course, to say that that is on top of the sterling work that has been completed by local authorities, as well as the work that has been undertaken by the Scottish Government, he will be aware that there is further funding that has been made available within next year's budget to ensure that we are undertaking further work on this very, very important project. To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to encourage uptake of science subjects by secondary school pupils. The Scottish Government's STEM education and training strategy has set out a range of actions to encourage uptake of science subjects in Scotland's secondary schools. We have invested in a range of measures to develop the capacity of teachers and school leaders to develop inspiring STEM courses and include measures to address the gender and balance in STEM subjects. Among other initiatives, we support the delivery of science subjects through the school journey, through teacher professional development, provided by CERC and also through REEs. CERC also delivered the Young STEM Leader awards programme, which aims to inspire and reward young people to take up STEM subjects and to encourage their peers to do so. Alex Rowley. I thank the minister for the answer. It is clear that the strategy is not working in either your constituency or mine. In five, for example, a total of 1,166 fewer pupils in S4-studied chemistry, biology or physics across the region this year than the year before. There is clearly a problem there. Can I ask the cabinet secretary, do we know what the impact of Covid has been on our schools, local authority by local authority? Has there been a proper impact assessment? Is local authority has been asked to produce the detail of that and set out a clear recovery plan for education in the region? I would point Mr Rowley to the work that will be undertaken with the Scottish entertainment challenge refresh that particularly ensures that we are investing that £1 billion from the Scottish Government across all 32 local authorities, including Fife, for the first time and also a number of schools in Mr Rowley's constituency and region. That is very important because we need to look at the impact of Covid and poverty. The other part of the work that I announced in my ministerial statement on the refresh was the work that would be undertaken with local authorities to include stretch aims about how we could improve what is happening in the different local authorities, including Fife, and that work will be available in the new year and published for Mr Rowley to comment on. I have a number of supplementaries. Can I ask the cabinet secretary how they are engaging secondary school pupils in the new draft national planning framework as a way of sparking interest in this topic and meeting the national schools shortage? Of course what happens within schools is a matter for schools and teachers themselves. We do not have a set national curriculum in Scotland. I am sure that teachers will be seeing the importance of what happens in the area and will be encouraging their pupils to take that up, but that is of course a matter for teachers themselves. Reports from the Scottish Qualifications Authority show that in 2020, young women only make up 28 per cent of higher-physic students and 24 per cent of advanced higher-physic students. Those statistics are the same as when the SNP came to power in 2007. Does the cabinet secretary agree that it is vital that young women must be encouraged to study STEM subjects in school? Will she commit to ensuring that the next generation of women feeling powered could pursue STEM careers and continue to close the gender gap? I would very much agree with the premise of that question and the importance of tackling that gender gap. I would point the member to the STEM strategy, which includes a number of policy initiatives, particularly through Education Scotland, to ensure that that is being tackled. The STEM strategy also looks very carefully at what we need to do exactly from early years all the way through. Unfortunately, some of the gender stereotypes when it comes to STEM or to caring are already well-set in training when young people are already at nursery. We are very determined to take that on at all levels. I would encourage her to have any specific ways that the Government could be doing more than this. I would be more than happy to work with her in a new year on that. It is a similar question, but it is to ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to further encourage women, because it is not just about school. It is even at college or further education to encourage women to have careers in STEM. Again, my harp raises a very important point. As I pointed out in my last answer, that is something that is at the heart of the STEM strategy, which the Government has in place, because we know that we need to tackle gender inequality right across the education and learning landscape. She rightly points out that that is something that impacts on college and university as well. There is a perception around who does what job and therefore who does what course. That is quite damaging. Women remain very underrepresented in many STEM sectors, so we will be keeping up-to-date on that. I give one example of the work that Education Scotland is doing in its improving gender balance and equality team, which tries to work with school clusters to ensure that more work can be done. Of course, we also do a lot of work in colleges and universities in this area, although universities are independent institutions from Government. To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made in recruiting STEM teachers, especially in rural areas. The Scottish Government is offering 150 bursaries of £20,000 for career changers to do teacher training in STEM subjects, where the demand for teachers is at its greatest. To date, the bursary scheme has provided training for approximately 452 STEM teachers. A new phase of our teacher recruitment campaign is under way, which aims to encourage students and career changers to apply for a teacher education course with a particular focus on STEM subjects. In addition, since the start of the pandemic, we have provided £240 million of an additional investment over two financial years specifically for the recruitment of more educational staff and a further £145.5 million of permanent funding from April 2022. The shortage of teachers in particular subject areas is particularly difficult to address in rural areas in comparison to urban areas, and that is certainly true with STEM subjects. To ask the cabinet secretary how the challenge is reflected in the Scottish Government's response to the recommendations of ECOS GEN's final report for Education Scotland, evaluating STEM grants programme round 2, and wider Education Scotland STEM support. Mr Fairlie rightly points to another scheme that the Scottish Government supports through Education Scotland. That is the STEM grants programme. My understanding is that £3 million of funding has now been delivered through that since 2018. The recent report includes a number of innovative bids that have particularly came for rural areas. My understanding is that that has been real strength from round 2, particularly because that has provided teachers with access to high-quality professional learning, which acts as an enabler to retaining staff. As Mr Fairlie will be well aware, that is particularly important in our rural and remote areas. Question 6, Siobhan Brown, who joins us remotely. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I ask the Scottish Government what measures are being put in place to keep pupils warm while they are in the classrooms over the coming months, given that there will be a need for adequate ventilation to mitigate the risks of Covid-19? Our updated guidance for schools gives potential approaches to increase natural ventilation from balancing temperature and user comfort. Strategies will vary, depending on local circumstances, but can and could partially open doors and windows to provide ventilation while reducing drafts, opening high-level windows in preference to low-level to reduce drafts, purging spaces by opening windows, vents and external doors, for example, between classes or during break and lunch, flexible uniform and staff death policies to help ensure that children, young people and staff can stay warm if doors are required to be opened and, of course, maintaining appropriate heating strategies. Thank you. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Over the past few months, it has become apparent that ventilation will play an important part in reducing transmission of Covid and variants. How has the Scottish Government ensured that the appropriate risk assessments are being conducted for indoor teaching environments? As the member will be aware, the Scottish Government has provided an additional £10 million to local authorities. That is, of course, on top of the £90 million that was provided earlier on in the pandemic for measures, including ventilation. She is quite right to port out that a very important part of all of this work is around adequate risk assessment. So our recently updated guidance, which I referred to in previous questions, set out an increased expectation that, across all local authorities, there should be sufficient CO2 monitors made available to allow learning, teaching and play spaces to be assessed often to support on-going decision-making by staff about balancing ventilation with temperature during the winter months and assessing spaces for a minimum of one full day per week as a broad guideline under normal occupancy. Let's be clear what that means. Open the window. After two years, that's what the Government has come up with. Young people are learning in freezing temperatures, wearing hats, scarfs and gloves. A teacher in Dundee told me just in the last week that the red light on their CO2 monitor is on constantly. He's been told to ignore it and he now has Covid. At best, he misses Christmas with his family. Can I ask the cabinet secretary if she will begin the immediate procurement of HEPA filters for every classroom, so that this completely unacceptable situation does not arise for a third winter in a row? I strongly suggest and encourage Mr Mahrez—I'm sure that he has done already—to encourage the teacher to deal with his trade union if that has indeed been the case that he has been told by anyone to ignore a red light. There are arrangements in place to ensure that any member of staff that has concerns can have that address at a local area. Of course, COSLA has made clear that trade union representatives can raise any specific issues that cannot be resolved satisfactorily at a local level through the workforce issues group that they chair. I would point Mr Mahrez to once again to the fact that our guidance on ventilation is based on expert advice. HEPA filters are not a replacement for natural ventilation. That point has been made clear by the expert guidance that expert advice has given us. Once again, I would point him to the discussions that happened at the Covid-19 recovery group, in which many of the discussions around this heard evidence. For example, from Dr Sean Fitzgerald, my first port of call would be to try and use the infrastructure that is already there, namely opening the windows and to be smart about the way of doing it. We are following the expert advice on this. We will continue to ensure that we do that. We are, of course, open to change if that expert advice changes itself. Question 7 is not lodged. Question 8, Graham Simpson. Again, who joins us remotely. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I can ask the Scottish Government how it plans to close the attainment gap in light of the report, Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels 2020-21. Our Refreshed Scottish attainment challenge, backed by a record investment of £1 billion in this Parliament, empowers schools and local authorities to drive education, recovery and accelerate progress in tackling the attainment gap. Alongside this increased investment, we are working with partners across education to develop a framework for recovery and accelerated progress that we will publish in the new year. Planning and reporting will be streamlined enabling us to understand what schools and local authorities expect to achieve and by when using local stretch aims. Schools and local authorities will set out their ambitions for improvement using local knowledge and professional expertise. Graham Simpson. Can I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer? I should apologise for the original question, because, of course, it is not an attainment gap. It is a chasm and it is getting bigger. The figures in the report are absolutely scandalous and I will not go over them, but everywhere you look, that gap, that chasm is getting wider. The cabinet secretary would do well to listen to people like the Commission for School Reform to suggest in their report playing catch-up among other things that we have flexible additional support and a greater roll-out of free devices. Will she do so? The figures that were produced in the ASO statistics are greatly concerning, but I would point the member to the fact that this is an international challenge that we are facing. On remarks recently that I have came from England, I point to the fact that there is a recognition that all school children will have been impacted by Covid. We need to recognise the context of course that we are working in. I would point the member to the fact that we have increased the funding that is going into the attainment challenge from £750 million in the last Parliament to £1 billion in this Parliament, particularly because we are very concerned about what is happening in the statistics but also because we want to see the pace of change increasing. That is exactly why we are prioritising investment in this area during a particularly difficult budget year. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. We absolutely have to do all we can to close Scotland's attainment gap. The cabinet secretary references other countries and issues that they are having with issues with the pandemic and attainment gaps and slippage of the most deprived communities. Can I ask the cabinet secretary what analysis the Scottish Government has made of how other countries are faring in relation to this and are there lessons to be learned from other countries that we can implement here in Scotland? Mr Doris is quite right to point out the impact that the pandemic has had across the globe. As I said in my original answer, Ofsted has recently made comments on this, but we have also heard from the chief inspector of schools in Wales. We have reported that mass reading, Welsh language and social skills have all suffered during Covid-19 lockdowns and school closures, and that, again, goes on top of the findings of the UN World Bank report that was published earlier this month, which pointed to school closures resulting in significant learning loss. That is exactly why we are doing everything that we can to ensure that there is as little disruption to education in the new year as possible. That is a very important lesson that we need to learn, as Mr Doris has asked us to do from previous parts of the pandemic. That concludes portfolio questions. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business.