 The first item of business is portfolio questions. The portfolio on this occasion is education and skills. I'd invite any member wishing to ask a supplementary question to press the request-and-speak buttons during the relevant questions. I think that the members' advice is there is quite a bit of interest in supplementary questions. So the usual appeal for brevity in questions and responses. I call question number 1, Annie Wells. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the summat and tackling violence in schools. There are multiple strands to the behaviour in schools summit. In June I convened the first meeting of the headteacher task force, which focused on issues surrounding school exclusion. I chaired a summit focused on recording and monitoring incidents in schools on 5 September. This was an area of concern raised recently during parliamentary debate back in May. The next two events are currently scheduled for October and November. This approach enables engagement with a wide range of stakeholders so that we are hearing and learning from the broadest range of interests and experiences possible. It also allows exploration of the key issues in depth and for the work to be informed by evidence from the behaviour in Scottish schools research that we will publish in November. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer and I welcome the fact that the first part of the summit has been held. However, that should have happened before the Scottish schools returned. During the debate that the cabinet secretary mentioned, the Scottish Conservatives also called for an action plan to tackle violence and disruption ready for the start of the new school year, a new standard reporting system, a plan to address increasing issues with attendance and new guidance for school staff. Can I ask the cabinet secretary what work has been undertaken on those other key issues? I thank the member for her question. She raises a number of important points. First, I will reiterate the debate that was held in May. I then convened the headteacher's task force in June. The member will be aware that teachers are usually on holiday in July and August. Therefore, the earliest possible opportunity for me to reconvene the summit was September, the first week back. We will be having further meetings in October and in November. I am really keen to work on a cross-party basis on this issue, recognising the support that I thought we heard across the chamber back in May. She made a point in relation to attendance. This is an issue that I have been addressing with Education Scotland directly. I received fortnightly updates on national attendance. There are real challenges, as she may have heard during the debate in May in relation to certain year groups. Those year groups, for example, who were going through transition period during the pandemic, are struggling with the return to formal education. There is more that we will need to do at a central government level to help support certain local authorities in tackling areas in relation to attendance. I recognise that point. I have also made clear that my priority is to use the summit process and its totality to identify solutions at school, local and national level to address the concerns that have been raised. We will use the insights that are provided through the summit process, but also the behaviour that is coming from the behaviour in Scottish schools research that will give us the accurate national picture currently in relation to that. There is a lot of interesting supplementaries on this question, but the questions themselves will have to be very brief, as will the responses for Ruth Maguire. Preventative action is crucial to tackle this issue. I note that £2 million was provided to support prevention activity in 2022-23. Can the cabinet secretary outline what projects the Scottish Government is currently supporting to deliver this place? The member is right to highlight that investment. As she has outlined, the Government is providing more than £2 million to support this really important preventative work. That includes a range of programmes across portfolio areas, including education portfolio areas, but organisations such as the Education Scotland Mentors and Violence Prevention programme help young people to become part of the solution through peer education and to take a bystander approach supporting them to positively influence attitudes and behaviours of their peers. The funding also enables medics against violence to run a number of programmes, including its youth education programme and Police Scotland's youth volunteers, to deliver its programme to young people in Scotland's community. Under this Government, teachers are under more and more pressure. Classrooms are like pressure crookers. Class sizes have got bigger, and teachers have been left wondering when the commitment to increase their non-contact time will be delivered. Does the cabinet secretary acknowledge that fulfilling the promise on non-contact time is essential to addressing the environment in the classroom, poor behaviour and violence in schools? I have to say that the member paints a fairly depressing picture in relation to Scottish education. We have, of course, the lowest pupil teacher ratio in Scotland, the highest pay for teachers in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK. It is important also to say that we have the highest spend per pupil than any other part of the United Kingdom. We are investing in our education system. I recognise the call from the member in relation to class contact. Of course, I wrote to the member on this very issue at the very end of term, and I would seek to give him a more fulsome update in the coming weeks. I think that the cabinet secretary did well before the summer to build a consensus across the Parliament on this issue. It is why I cannot understand why she has excluded members of the Scottish Parliament from attending some of those summits. I want to hear unfiltered from teachers and professionals about the issues that they face. I do not want to speak. I just want to listen so that we can make the right decisions in this Parliament. I want to be properly connected with teachers. Will the cabinet secretary think again about allowing parliamentary spokes? Mr Rennie has to recognise that, in the course of this summit, teachers will speak very openly, and there may be a reticence from them to do so, if they think that that might be used for political end. He has to understand that reality. I am more than happy, however, to meet with MSPs across the chamber on this issue. I am more than happy to look again at how we can engage MSPs directly in this process. We need to be mindful, but those are professionals working in our education system, and they may not feel comfortable speaking out in front of a group of politicians if they fear that that might be used in other ways, for example in this chamber. I have been very careful in building relationships working across the education system across the past couple of months, and it is really important that we build trust with the profession on the issue. However, I will explore with my officials how we might be able to engage MSPs more directly in this work, recognising the sensitivities of those who work in our classrooms. To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish updated details of its learning estate investment programme. Understand that local authorities are keen to get clarity on phase three of the learning estate investment programme. We wrote to local authorities to explain that consideration of potential phase three projects was still on-going. It is important to recognise that we are trying to make these important investment decisions against a backdrop of market volatility on current projects. The need to keep Scottish finances on us, sustainable trajectory and, as the chamber will be aware more recently, rack prevalence in school buildings. Those are really big decisions. It is important that we get them right, and I hope to announce successful projects as soon as possible. It feels a little like Groundhog Day, when we get an answer to the question. It is a year now since East Wrenforshire Council bid for two projects for Carrollside and Cross-Arthley primary school replacements, so the schools are badly needed for the communities that they serve. Does the cabinet secretary accept that issues and uncertainty around financing is causing real concern in local authorities who are trying to undertake long-term capital and revenue planning? I appreciate that Highland colleagues will raise the issue specific to those communities, but does she fear, as communities do, that councils may have to shelve other projects due to the uncertainty from the Government? I would have to say to the member that the uncertainty has been caused not by this Government but by a Government elsewhere, as he well knows. The decisions that have been taken by that Government are impacting on our capital and our ability to spend in terms of capital in Scotland. He must take cognisance of that. Indeed, that was raised only at FMQs very recently. I think that the issue that is more broadly around uncertainty is important. I am keen to go to local authorities as soon as possible with an update on that issue. He will recognise that, in the interim, we have faced real challenges in relation to the decision from the Department for Education surrounding rack and schools in England. That has meant that we now need to take a rack approach to how we administer the LEAP fund and we are looking at how we might be able to support local authorities to that end. We are very clear that we expect the Treasury to make further funds available across the UK to deal with problems that are caused by rack across the public sector estate. I know that the DFM has written to the Treasury on this issue. We haven't yet received the response. I have written to the education secretary in England on three occasions. We have yet to receive a response. I am keen to work with local authorities— Thank you, cabinet secretary. We have a lot of interest. I want to move to supplementary 1st Karen Adam. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The SNP Government has a strong track record in improving the school estate. However, there are still significant challenges that teachers, staff and students face in schools, such as Bucky High in my constituency. Will the cabinet secretary advise when we would expect to hear an announcement on the LEAP 3 funding—a funding that would build on that track record and which could provide real support to the challenges mentioned? I thank the member for her question. As I alluded to in my response to Mr O'Kane, I would hope to be in a position to do so as soon as possible. I think that the other thing to remember is that the school estate does not actually belong to the Scottish Government. It belongs to our local authorities who have the statutory responsibility for the provision of education at local level, notwithstanding that the Scottish Government has contributed to significant improvements across our school estate since 2007. I am absolutely committed to working with our local authority partners on how we can go further, recognising the very real financial constraints that the Government is currently under. Yesterday, Kirsty Flanagan of SIPFA told the education committee that, even when the delayed funds are finally announced, local authorities will have to assess whether, in the current financial climate, they will be able to deliver on what they hoped to last September. What is the Government doing to assess the impact of its delayed funding announcements on local councils and schools? We will continue to work with local authority partners in recognition of the financial challenges that they face at the current time. However, as Mr Kerr will be aware, the economic disaster mismanagement by the UK Government and the subsequent huge rise in inflation from Liz Truss's mini-budget has had a real impact on the projects that have already been chosen in previous phases of LEAP. I would just like to remind the chamber that it was, of course, the disastrous mini-budget that Tory MSPs urged the Government to follow. We are currently giving very careful consideration to local authorities' beds for phase 3 of the learning and statement investment programme. I do, as I have outlined already today, intend to update Parliament on this as soon as possible, recognising the concerns from local authorities. I wonder whether the cabinet secretary believes that, in considering this question, Parliament has to be mindful of the fact that, when this Government came to office, our predecessors judged that it was acceptable for 63 per cent of schools to be in good or satisfactory condition, but we now find ourselves, despite austerity, despite all the public spending constraints, that in excess of 90 per cent of Scottish schools are now in good or satisfactory condition. Does that not need to be recalled as we consider this important question? I think that Mr Swinney is absolutely correct to point out the significant investment from this Government. It is also important to remind the chamber that there are a total of 34 on-going Scottish PFI contracts, and the total remaining payments on those contracts awarded for all-school PFI contracts is £7.45 billion. The economic mismanagement by the previous administration is still costing this Government in addition to that additionality, which, of course, we will be required to find now in terms of our investment, and our continued support for investing in improving our school of state. Thank you, Mr Swinney, to ask the Scottish Government how it supports children within the education system that have learning disabilities, autism or neurodiversity. We want all children and young people to get the support that they need to reach their full learning potential, including those with learning disabilities and neurodiverse children and young people. The additional support for learning legislation very clearly places education authorities under duties to identify, provide for, and review the support needs for their pupils. We have developed a range of professional learning resources for school staff to better identify and support neurodiverse children and young people, for example, the autism toolbox and the addressing dyslexia toolkit. I welcome the proposals for the new learning disability, autism and neurodiversity bill, but note that it is important that the process of shaping it is also accessible for the community's concerns. What work has the Scottish Government undertaken to ensure that accessible engagement processes are in place and to ensure that lived experiences are both prioritised and also heard? I think that Stuart McMillan is absolutely correct. That is why we are taking, of course, a human rights based approach to ensure that the bill is fully co-designed with people with lived experience. We have also established three bill panels to support the development of consultation proposals, including a lived experience advisory panel. That panel advises on areas where change could have the greatest impact. We will also ensure that meetings and papers are accessible, including preparing easy read versions of all meeting papers and providing bespoke support to panel members with a learning disability. We will work with the panel and stakeholders to co-design a consultation process that is as accessible and as inclusive as possible. Dyslexia is a condition that a significant number of our ASN-identified pupils suffer from. This Parliament has not had a debate in Government time on dyslexia since very early on in its existence. Indeed, the last debate was a member's debate in session five. Can we have a Government debate in their time on ASN provision so that I can raise the cases regarding dyslexia? I thank the member for his question. I think that he raises a hugely important matter. Of course, we now have over a third of our young people at mainstream who have an additional support need. I will speak to our Minister for Parliamentary Business on how we might be able to secure some Government time to debate this hugely important topic, which is crucial and fundamental to the inclusive education system that we have in Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any assessment and marking backlogs at universities. The following consultation with its membership has withdrawn its marking assessment boycott at universities across the UK effected from 6 September, which is of course welcome. Now that the boycott has ended, universities are working to complete any outstanding marking assessments so that effective students can get their final awards and degree classifications. I want to take this opportunity to thank students for the resilience during what has been clearly a difficult period and extend those thanks to all across the sector who have and who continue to work hard to minimise the impact on students. I thank the minister for that answer. My constituent Claire Shanky has been issued with a letter from the University of Edinburgh that only confirms that she has completed her degree. This did not include grading or a timescale of the final award. Like so many others, her life has been put on hold and she can't plan for her future. Does the minister agree with me that this is a distressing situation for students whose entire experience has been impacted by Covid and then strike action? And what assurances can he provide that this situation can be resolved? I empathise entirely with students who, like Claire, have been affected first by Covid and then industrial action and who deserve to receive the rewards of their hard work. I know that the impact of the marking assessment boycott has varied across and indeed within institutions. Now that the boycott has been withdrawn, it is my expectation that universities in Scotland with backlogs will work at pace to complete any outstanding marking assessments in order to provide effective students with their final awards and degree classifications. I received a letter from the member just yesterday. I have asked my officials to pick up on this and I will write to her on Edinburgh's progress with the marking backlog as soon as we have that information to hide. To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with Highland Council to improve the school estate in the Skyle, Haber and Badenoch constituency. The £2 billion learning estate investment programme is being delivered in partnership with local authorities and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland. Through phase 2 of the learning estate investment programme, we announced that Highland Council's Broadford primary school project, which is in the member Skyle, Haber and Badenoch constituency, would receive Scottish Government funding to support. The school will deliver both Gallic and English education as well as community facilities for Broadford. It is being designed to pacify standard and construction is due to start next summer. The cabinet secretary makes clear that Highland Council is responsible for the school estate. It has applied for funding to replace additional support needs schools in Clements and two other primary schools, Dunvegan primary school and Buley. All of them are in a dire state of disrepair. Will the Scottish Government be able to advise the council whether they have been successful or not for LEAP 3 funding? I very much recognise the members' interests in relation to LEAP phase 3 funding. We have heard other members raise this issue today. I am keen to update Parliament as soon as possible on this matter. As I have outlined, we have written to local authorities to explain that consideration for phase 3 projects is still on-going. It is important to recognise that we are trying to make really important investment decisions against that backdrop of market volatility on current projects that need to keep Scottish finances on a sustainable trajectory and the additional challenge in relation to RAC in school buildings. However, I recognise the member's interests in relation to her constituency. I know that there will be other members across Parliament who have similar interests. I would seek to provide Parliament with an update as soon as possible, recognising the financial challenge at the current time. We are now left with the unsuitable, potentially unhealthy buildings, which will only be made habitable and not replaced with the new school buildings that are so desperately needed. While the make-do-and-mend approach from SNP ministers and Edinburgh and SNP Highland Council in Zimbabwe continues, when can teachers, parents and children in Dunvegan, Buley and other parts of the Highlands expect to see the new schools that they were promised? As we have heard from Mr Swinney, when the SNP first came to Government, about 60 per cent of our schools were in good or satisfactory condition. Today, that is more than 91 per cent. I think that that is a good record of investment from this Government in our school state, particularly when the responsibility for our school buildings does not rest with this Government but rests with local authorities. I have committed to Parliament today to provide an update in relation to the LEAP 3 projects. I hope that the member will welcome that and welcome the significant investment that has come from this Government in improving our school estate. To ask the Scottish Government what opportunities the development of a Scottish education exchange programme would present for young people in Kilmaroc and Irvine Valley. We are committed to addressing one of the most damaging consequences of Brexit for our young people, namely the fact that they cannot access the Erasmus Plus programme. This year, we have set up a test and learn project to re-establish some of those opportunities in 24-25. We will build on that initial project to develop a programme that can provide opportunities for young people, including those in Kilmaroc and Irvine Valley, which prioritises placements for disadvantaged groups and further demonstrates our commitment to EU and global partnerships with schools, colleges and universities throughout Scotland. I thank the minister for that answer. The knowledge education exchange programme forms a core part of our commitment to engaging with EU further learning institutions. Does the minister agree with me, however, that the best way, the only way for Scotland's young people to fully receive the benefits of EU further education is to rejoin the European Union rather than continue to reject it as Scottish Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems are doing? The member is absolutely right. Of course, the hard Brexit supported by both Labour and the Tories has robbed young people in Scotland of some of the opportunities that previous generations were able to benefit from, including the Erasmans. That is why we are committed to the education exchange programme, which re-establishes some of the opportunities that Erasmans provided, but the UK's replacement touring scheme does not. We are designing it in partnership with universities and colleges that have real expertise to offer, but rather than picking up the pieces of Brexit, it would not be much simpler for Scotland to play a full, positive and constructive role with our neighbours in Europe by rejoining the EU as an independent country. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve digital education in light of the increased prominence of artificial intelligence and cyber technology. I am acutely aware of recent developments in artificial intelligence and cyber technology, and in that context, the provision of high-quality digital education has never been more important. In the programme for government, we have committed to developing a new digital strategy to help ensure that digital provision supports the wider aims of the education system. The £13 million allocated in the £23.24 budget is the first step in delivering improvements in digital provision. This year, I was privileged to visit the national robotarium at Heriot-Watt University. Last week, I attended the opening of the centre for data science and AI at the ARC at the University of Glasgow, and this week, I have hosted a census in the Parliament. The ambitions for Scotland's digital AI and robotic sectors at the centres is inspirational. What is the Scottish Government doing to foster a direct engagement between schools and STEM centres of excellence to encourage diversity and interest in STEM careers? The member raises an important point, and she has outlined some examples of positive good working. I heard recently about the robotic centre from Liam Kerr, who I understand, visited the centre earlier this week. There is certainly more that we would want to do in relation to joining that opportunity with educational opportunities in school. That engagement with employers and others to challenge existing inequalities, particularly in relation to access, is a theme of the STEM education and training strategy. There are 20 employer-led developing the young workforce regional groups, which are very well placed to make these connections as part of our wider ambition to create a highly skilled and competitive workforce in the future. The SNP Government has failed to provide digital inclusion funding since 2020-21. As the SNP Government cuts council budgets year on year, how does the cabinet secretary expect local authorities to improve digital education without any support? During the pandemic, we provided £25 million to local authorities, which supported the purchase of more than 72,000 devices and 14,000 internet connections for school children across Scotland. As I intimated in my response to Clare Adamson, we will be bringing forward a digital strategy, which will work with local authorities, many of whom have practical challenges in relation to connectivity within their school of state, which looks different in different local authorities and in different schools. I hope that the member would recognise that. The important point to remember is that we have a generation of young people going through our education system that is required to be upskilled digitally. That is why we made the laptop and the commitment in relation to digital devices. That is why we are bringing forward a digital strategy that will help those young people in relation to their learning in school, but also help to improve their learning and understanding as they move into the world of work and further education. In 2020-22, the number of people entering computer and teaching training was half the target set by this Government. The STEM bursary scheme has clearly not succeeded in incentivising a career in computer and teaching. Does the cabinet secretary accept that, unless the Government tackles the chronic shortage of computing teachers, people will rightly question how seriously they are about improving digital education in their school? Our new teacher bursary scheme provides bursaries of £20,000 for career changers wishing to undertake a one-year PGDE in hard-to-fill STEM subjects, so physics, maths and technical education, including computing science, I must say. There are also national incentives in place to encourage teachers to locate to more remote areas. For example, through the preference waiver payment, probationary teachers can receive up to £8,000 if they are willing to complete their probation anywhere in Scotland. I know that, because I undertook that myself many years ago now. However, I think that the member is right to raise the challenge around certain subject areas. Those are matters that I raised very recently with the strategic board for teacher education in relation to how we can make sure that we have a teaching population that meets the needs of our young people. I have committed to working with the strategic board on that matter, and I would seek to update Parliament later this year in relation to that work. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the national allowance for foster and kinship care. Following discussions between the Scottish Government and COSLA, it has been agreed that the Scottish Government will provide an additional £16 million of revenue to introduce a new Scottish-recommended allowance for foster and kinship carers across Scotland, benefiting over 9,000 families. The Scottish-recommended allowance will ensure that a consistent and transparent level of financial support is provided to all foster and kinship carers, helping them to provide the standard of living and wellbeing that the children and young people in their care deserve. This is another important step in our ambition to keep the promise and ensure that all care expedients, children and young people grow up loved, safe and respected. I thank the minister and I really strongly welcome the news, which was first promised in 2016. The new national allowance will make a significant difference to the daily lives of some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Scotland. I thank the minister also for writing to me on 8 September stating that the £16 million has been found from the children's and families dictate to fund the policy. Given that we are consistently told in order to spend money, we need to explain where it will be cut. Can the minister tell me what the Scottish Government has cut to fund the policy? I am sure that the member will be aware of the complexities around budget, and it is not quite as clear-cut as that. If the member would like more information on this, I am happy to get back to her at a later date. The national allowance has been a significant step in Scotland's journey towards achieving the promise. Reflecting on the promise implementation plan, what routes has the Scottish Government undertaken to ensure that it is met? We are working with stakeholders across Scotland to ensure that we are driving forward the change that the promise demands. To give just a few examples, we have set out our support for families through our whole family wellbeing fund. The children's care and justice bill is presently going through Parliament, and we are collaborating with care experience young people and adults on the support that they need as they move on from care settings. Keeping the promise requires a cross-portfolio and cross-policy response, and the work that we are doing is threaded through our recent programme for government. To guide that work, we are also creating a dedicated promise sub-committee, which will link the cross-portfolio commitments and interdependencies.