 The next item of business is portfolio questions. The portfolio on this occasion is education and skills. I invite members wishing to ask a supplementary question to press the request-to-speak buttons during the relevant questions. There is an awful lot of interest in supplementary questions, so they will need to be brief, as will the responses. I will be intervening where speaking allocation times are not adhered to, and I call question number one, Edward Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Executive Chief Officer for Education and Learning at Highland Council and what was discussed. Scottish Government officials last met with the Executive Chief Officer for Education and Learning at Highland Council on Thursday 5 October 2023 to discuss a range of education matters, including attainment. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. It is interesting that no one seems to have seen her since. Does the cabinet secretary believe that members of this Parliament should be allowed to visit schools within their constituencies and all regions, or whether councils like the Highland councils should obstruct and deny such visits? As a general point of principle, yes, I do believe that MSPs should be able to engage with their schools in their areas, that they represent. I do so myself on a regular basis in my constituency. I do not know the specifics of the issue that Mr Mountain has raised today. If he would like to share more information with me, of course, that would be welcome. I am aware, of course, as members will be, that during electoral periods, for example, local authorities undoubtedly put rules and restrictions on when elected members might visit local schools. However, if the member wishes to share more detail with my office, I would be more than happy to consider that. Proposals from the University of the Highlands and Islands are set to cut some STEM subjects at the Murray campus. That will have a negative impact on senior pupils who study there in addition to attending school. Given the importance of this model of delivery of school subjects and the rurality of the area and the impact on pupils, can the cabinet secretary say what she can do to ensure provision of those subjects continued to the pupils in that area? I thank the member for her question. I may ask the Minister for Higher Education to engage with her directly on the substantive point. I have seen reports in relation to some of the challenge here. Of course, the Government does support the provision of additionality through funding for bursaries for STEM subjects, for example, recognising the challenge in that subject area. However, I will ask the Minister for Higher Education to write to the member with more specifics in relation to that. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of an accredited qualification and registration programme for additional support needs assistance. In taking forward this work, my officials have engaged extensively with a range of stakeholders, including local authorities, COSLA, ADES, the unions, the Association of Support for Learning Officers and pupil support staff themselves. This included a national engagement programme undertaken by Education Scotland, which gathered 2,500 responses from pupil support staff across all 32 local authority areas. Through the engagement, we have heard a wide range of views and now have a substantial amount of information with which to inform the development of a final report. Officials have confirmed that the intention is to publish the final report in the spring, which will contain proposals for further action. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. We know that support assistance jobs are expanding, the teacher burdens are increasing, the more likely to be attacked, have higher workloads, but often get less training and support. They have to be classroom teachers, mental health workers and speech and language therapists in order to cover up some gaps in pupil provision. I just ask the cabinet secretary to be clear if the Government will follow through on that commitment and give a timeline when they will publish a pathway for additional support needs teachers to training and education. The member will be aware that the commitment stems from a bute house commitment in relation to looking at accreditation for pupil support assistance. It is vitally important that we consider that. I outlined in my initial response to the member that we expect to have the full detail of that report in the spring, so in the coming weeks. I hope that that gives him some reassurance on timescales involved more broadly. I hope that the member will welcome data that was published earlier this week, which shows that we now have a record number of pupil support assistants working in Scotland schools, which increased last year by 725. That is because this Government is putting additional investment into pupil support assistants, recognising, as the member has done, the key role that they play in Scotland schools. Can the cabinet secretary further detail how the record funding provided by the local Government by the Scottish Government is improving outcomes for young people with additional support needs, including in Dumfries and Galloway? Spending on additional support for learning by local authorities reached a record high of £926 million in 2022-23. We have also invested £75 million since 2019-20, which has contributed, as I mentioned in the response to Mr Griffin, to the highest recorded level of support staff in Scotland on record. It is also worthwhile to recognise, Presiding Officer, the achievements of our young people with additional support needs. We know that 93 per cent of secondary and special school leavers with an additional support need were in an initial positive destination three months after the end of the school year. That is certainly welcome news, and it is also evidence of further investment from this Government in supporting our children and young people. Statistics on Tuesday showed that Scotland has 392 fewer ASN specialists than it did in 2013. Over the same time, there was a 96.8 per cent increase in the number of pupils identified with an additional support need. What solution can the cabinet secretary offer right now to address the falling ASN teacher numbers and reduce the numbers that each is supporting? I thank the member for his question. He will also recognise, of course, that the data that was published yesterday showed an increased trajectory in relation to the number of specialists. I hope that he will recognise that those numbers are now going in the right direction, recognising the need and the system. Of course, the member and I, and I think that a number of others, discussed the issue yesterday at the Education and Skills Committee. To that end, I look forward to hearing from the committee on their recommendations to the Government on that exact point. However, the point that I was making committee yesterday to Ms Duncan Glancy was that because of additional investment from this Government in teacher numbers and in pupil support assistance, we are now seeing record numbers in our schools. I hope that the member recognises that in relation to pupil support assistance. I see the member gesticulating from a sedentary position, but I hope that he accepts that, in the past three years, we have seen an increase in relation to those with additional support needs as a specialism in relation to classroom teaching. It is going in the right direction, and it is because of that additionality and investment from this Government, Presiding Officer. I would encourage the minister to ignore any gesticulations coming from the Opposition Front Benches. I call question 3 Murdoff. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to schools to facilitate the expansion of an outdoor learning-based curriculum. As part of our learning for sustainability action plan published in June 2023, we have committed to establishing a new national policy workstream on outdoor learning supported by a national working group that will report to Scottish ministers. The group will pursue a range of actions to ensure that all children and young people receive entitlements to outdoor learning in all its forms. In addition, Education Scotland continues to support schools in taking learning outside through professional learning provision, a new learning for sustainability portal launching later this year and a learning for sustainability mentor network. I thank the minister for that very positive response. I am sure that she and the whole chamber are aware of the many recorded benefits that regular access to outdoor learnings can have on learners and educators across all levels of schooling. She will also be aware of the success of initiatives such as the teaching in nature programme. Is she minded to lend support to my colleague Liz Smith's member's bill to guarantee outdoor residential experiences for both primary and secondary pupils? I have discussed the bill proposals with Ms Smith on several occasions most recently, just earlier this year. I will continue to do so over the coming weeks and months following its formal introduction, which I believe is pretty imminent. As with any new legislative proposal, all stakeholder views must be taken into account in the full range of consequences and costs must be explored. On that, I had a really fantastic visit to the Outward Bound Trust at Loch Eol, where I heard first hand of the benefits and of this form of outdoor education and spoke directly to some of the young people who were benefiting from it. However, in relation to the proposed bill specifically, while of course the Government will give any draft bill its full consideration, we will reserve our final position until the draft bill is introduced. Can the minister set out what role Scotland's universities have in supporting the outdoor learning sector? I thank the member for the question. Universities are playing a really important role and a good example of that is Queen Margaret University's new outdoor learning hub, which my colleague the Minister for Higher and Further Education opened just earlier this week. As well as courses being offered by universities including Queen Margaret, Edinburgh, Stirling and Highland and Islands, we are also working with colleges and universities and with the General Teaching Council for Scotland to develop a new national framework for initial teacher training, which embeds learning for sustainability. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of free digital devices to school pupils. In order to maximise the impact of funding, we will provide support to a household level targeting device investment at disadvantaged families with children. This approach will improve equity of access to devices and connectivity. For those who need it most, helping families to realise the broad range of benefits associated with digital inclusion and enabling access to digital tools and resources for learning. We are currently in the early stages of scheme design with Connecting Scotland who will use their established model to distribute devices to eligible households. I am afraid that it is broken promise after broken promise from failing to close the poverty-related attainment gap to the roll-out of free school meals. Parents, teachers and pupils will now remember the SNP as the Government who stole the Wayne's IT. Although I appreciate that the cabinet secretary was not in post at the time when she promised a free laptop to every school pupil, why did the Government promise something that they knew that they would never be able to deliver? I remember her question. It is worth putting on the record that the Government has invested £25 million in devices and connectivity. That has resulted in over 72,000 devices and 14,000 connectivity packages being distributed to disadvantaged learners all over Scotland. However, I find it quite remarkable that Ms Gallagher has come to the chamber to complain about the investment going to support digital connectivity across the country, given that it is her party that has cut the Government's budget, particularly in relation to capital, by close to 10 per cent in real terms. That is having a direct impact on the spending priorities of this Government, meaning that there is less funding to go into things like education. I hope that the member would recognise some of the challenge in her question. I think that the hypocritical, if I may say so, approach that she is taking today. I have a number of supplementaries. I will try to get them in. I have more chance of getting them in if we do not have heckling of answers and indeed questions. Can the cabinet secretary say on her previous point whether the Scottish Government has made any assessment of the impact of budget capital cuts to Scotland from the UK Government on providing whether it is pre-digital services or other projects in the education portfolio? I thank the member for his question. As I alluded to in my response to Ms Gallagher's question, this is particularly challenging at the current time because of cuts that have come from Westminster that are having a real impact, but not just on education right across the Scottish Government. It is particularly acute in relation to the capital funding, which Ms Gallagher asked me the original question on, which is due to contract by almost 10 per cent in real terms over the next five years. That has real impacts here in Scotland, where, of course, we have one hand tied behind our back and we want to make spending decisions that affect the outcomes of our children and young people. Willie Rennie The education secretary's predecessor, who is making a lot of noise this afternoon, made this solemn promise to the voters in 2021. He said that those tools are no longer luxuries, so if they are essential, why has the Government de-prioritised the programme and why are they now means testing the access to free laptops and devices? I thank the member for his question. Again, as I have outlined, I thank him in my response to both previous members, decisions taken by Governments and other parts of the United Kingdom. Governments that the people of this country did not vote for mean that this Government in Scotland has less money to go around for a commitment that was now made some years ago. That is the reality of the UK. If Mr Rennie does not like it, then perhaps he should come to these benches and support independence for Scotland and give us the real spending power that we need to make investments in improving the capital provision that we currently have in relation to public services. That is the challenge of the United Kingdom and the status quo that Mr Rennie backs. The last Scottish health and wellbeing census found that for peoples between P5 and S3, over a third of bullying was done online. Can the cabinet secretary please advise what measures the Scottish Government has considered to limit harm to children during the roll-out of free digital devices? The member raises a really important point. On the issue, the Government is committed to rolling out a digital strategy, recognising some of the challenge here. More broadly, in relation to the issues around about bullying, of course, we published data on that towards the end of last year in the behaviour in Scotland schools research, but we looked at the issue in some more detail. Education Scotland has published a suite of resources in relation to online bullying that is supporting teachers in our schools at the current time. Of course, in the next few weeks, we will also produce updated guidance in relation to the use of mobile phones, which can also act in relation to facilitating some of the challenge in relation to online bullying. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions have taken place with ministerial colleagues regarding any potential implications for Scottish universities and colleges of the Migration Advisory Committee's rapid review of the graduate route visa, as announced by the UK Government. Scotland needs an immigration system that supports our higher education sector to deliver the best learning, the best research and the best experience for students who choose to study to stay in Scotland. I am, along with Scotland's universities and college sectors, deeply concerned that restricting or scrapping the graduate route will deter talented graduates from staying in Scotland. I thank the minister for that response. Since 2019, international students have contributed between £4 billion and £6 billion to the Scottish economy. The UK Government has stated the intended purpose of the review is to confirm, among other things, the visa can support pathways into high-quality jobs. Any curtailment of the graduate route has serious implications for Scotland's university sector. At a time when the UK Government's decision to end dependence visas for postgraduate students has had a significant impact on demand from key international markets such as Nigeria, India and Pakistan. Does the minister agree with me that any change to the graduate route visa must ensure that it remains an attractive and competitive offer to those who wish to study here and that the UK Government must also ensure that Scotland and the UK remains open and that a warm welcome awaits international students? I absolutely agree that we need international students and graduates to make their lives in Scotland. I share the member's concern at the rapid review and the UK Government's approach to international students generally, which has already seriously impacted our university sector. I am therefore seeking to meet the Migration Advisory Committee's chair in the coming days, prior to which I am hoping to hear directly from the university and college sector on their concerns, so that I can try to ensure that Scotland's needs are reflected in the rapid review. International students play a vital, cultural and economic role in Scotland, and we should recognise and celebrate that. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to comments made by the National Autistic Society in Scotland that some autistic pupils in Scotland have to, quote, fail in mainstream education before receiving the support that they need. We want all children and young people to get the support that they need to reach their full learning potential, including those with autism. The Scottish Government continues to work in partnership with Education Scotland and a range of stakeholders to improve professional understanding of and support for autistic learners in all settings. In commitment to this work, a range of information, guidance, resources and professional learning opportunities continue to be supported and collaboratively developed for school staff for access. In addition to that, we fund a number of services to support children and young people with additional support needs and their families to get the support necessary to thrive. That includes funding a national autism implementation team. I'm very grateful to the cabinet secretary for that response and indeed earlier in these questions we've discussed the ASN situation. But let me quote Susie Martin, the external affairs manager for the National Autistic Society, highlighting the distressing reality faced by families of autistic children who often find themselves having to, quote, fight the system to access necessary support. We've heard there are 392 less specialists in the school than we've heard from the cabinet secretary about record high spending, so what is the Scottish Government going to do to assist families of autistic children so they don't feel they have to fight the system? I thank the member for his question and, of course, he may be aware that the Education Committee is carrying out an inquiry on this very issue at the current time, and these comments were discussed yesterday in that evidence session. I'm very sympathetic to the points that Ms Martin has raised in relation to parents' experience of the current system. Of course, in responding to the Morgan review that was published back in 2020, the Scottish Government, in collaboration with COSLA, committed to the additional support for learning action plan, of which we've been able to progress over half of the actions contained in that plan, which include improving things like parents' experience and young people's experience of the system. We are, and the member is right to say, investing in record numbers of people's support assistance in our schools. However, I think that the experience of parents is often a challenging one, and I look forward to engaging with the committee members on the outputs from their report, which I understand will come in the coming weeks. In the coming weeks, of course, the Government will publish our additional support for learning action plan review, and I hope that, in that plan, we will be able to identify some more tangible steps that we can take to improve outcomes for our young people, but fundamentally to improve the system for our parents and carers as well, and our young people with additional support needs. I've got a couple of brief supplementary questions and brief answers, if possible. First, James Dawn. Can the cabinet secretary say any more about the steps that the Scottish Government has taken to improve the support-available to autistic learners, and the steps that are being taken to equip teachers with guidance to support the inclusion of autistic learners? As I mentioned, we fund the national autism implementation team, who produces materials to support professional learning and development for practitioners working in the system. NEIT has also developed a framework for assessment and planning to support multidisciplinary target setting for autistic children. That was written by allied health professionals, which I think is fundamentally important in recognising the link between health and education and other factors that we considered at the education committee yesterday. We have also refreshed the autism toolbox, which provides school staff with professional advice and guidance on supporting the inclusion of autistic learners. We recently heard from Mae Dunsmure, the president of the first-tier tribunal for Scotland, who highlighted the impact that masking is having on cases involving neurodivergent children. Will the cabinet secretary agree to work with Mr Whipfield and I and the members of the education committee to analyse the impact that masking is having on autistic and neurodivergent young people in schools and how we can best support them? I'm happy to engage with the member on this issue. She should also recognise, of course, that the Government is committed to bringing forward legislation in this space. I think that the bill may offer some protection in relation to the issues that have been highlighted in the education committee. To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to any local authorities that are struggling to meet the rising costs associated with providing school transport so that children and young people can travel to school in a safe, efficient and affordable manner. The Scottish Government is providing record funding of more than £14 billion to local authorities in 24-25, including more than £600 million of additional revenue funding for day-to-day services, including the provision of free home-to-school transport for eligible children. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities and decisions about the provision of home-to-school transport services to rest with local authorities. I am grateful for that answer and, without giving away our exact ages, the Education Scotland Act of 1980 is older than me and the Cabinet Secretary, and many believe that the minimum home-to-school provisions are no longer fit for purpose, notwithstanding the funding that the Cabinet Secretary has mentioned. Changing legislation takes time, but young constituents in Lanarkshire and their families need urgent action right now. I am pleased that the Minister, Jim Fairlie, who has got responsibility for bus, has agreed to meet with me locally to meet some of those families, because many children will now face difficult walks of up to six miles a day to and from school. We need to find some solutions, but it is not fair on these children. Will the Cabinet Secretary agree to be part of those talks? I am more than happy to engage with the member on this substantive point, although I just put on the record, Presiding Officer. The issue that she raises is fundamentally a matter for the relevant local authority. I hope that she recognises that at the current time. She cites the age of the legislation itself, but I think that it is important that local authorities are encouraged to engage with the local communities that they serve on school transport. I have been proud to stand with local children, young people, parents and carers who have staged a brilliant campaign against South Lanarkshire Council's unsafe and unworkable proposals to increase the qualifying criteria for school bus provision. The Scottish Government is providing South Lanarkshire Council with record funding this year, and although Labour's toxic PFI legacy continues to cost the council around £40 million every year. With the school transport consultation now closing, will the Cabinet Secretary urge the Labour Council and South Lanarkshire Council not to shirk its responsibilities and to heed the concerns that communities have eared? I thank the member for her question. Although it is, as I said to Ms Lennon, ultimately up to the council to make local decisions on how best to deliver their services, Clare Haughey is absolutely right to say that South Lanarkshire Council is receiving record funding from the Scottish Government, including more than £752 million to fund local services, which equates to an extra £46.6 million, or an additional £6.6 per cent, compared with the £23.24 budget, as well as its share of the additional funding recently announced by the Deputy First Minister. There is no financial reason for the council to take this unpopular decision, and I am sure that people in South Lanarkshire will reflect on a Labour party cutting front-line services and on an SNP Government investing in communities. Question 8, Russell. Providing update on what financial support is available to those in higher and further education who choose to study online? Further education students studying through distance learning may be eligible for funds such as tuition fee waiver if they receive certain benefits or are on a low income or have a disability and may be eligible to access support from discretionary funds. Eligible students can also access help with living costs in the form of educational maintenance allowance and childcare support. Higher education students studying through distance learning will typically be awarded tuition fee funding in the form of the part time fee grant. Eligible students may be eligible for discretionary funds and if eligible are also able to apply for DSA. Work is under way, of course, to review the financial support available as part of the wider reform work being undertaken. Russell Findlay. I thank the minister for his answer. A Renfrewshire constituent has turned his back in a corporate career to retrain as a Church of Scotland minister. However, the Scottish Government student award agency refuses to pay his fees or give him a loan because his full-time Aberdeen university course is all online, yet he is doing exactly the same work as those who attend in person. Can the minister tell my constituent and others in that position why he is being unfairly penalised and what the SNP Government will do to close this loophole? Minister. The member raises a specific case and I'd be happy to engage with him further if he provides additional detail to look into that with SAS. Thank you minister. That concludes portfolio questions on education and skills. There'll be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business to allow you from benches to change.