 9. Mae gwaith ar gyfer eu poepwydd yngwinellydd i Ff varyllfa i gael ei hyn o fynd i chi'n nae le Saddloedd, i gyfleoedd i'n ff varyllfa i gael ei hwn i gael ei fwy yn fwy yn benod, lle mae'r cynhyrch yn rhan beth i ffryddio'r swyddaeth yn hwn nhw. 9. Mae teimlo'r fwy yn mwy mwy. 7. Mae'r gwaith ar gyfer i gael ei fwy yn dymuno i gael ei fwy yn mwy i gael ei fwy yn Numrwb yn ni, Shawerwell a Duolffas Patrick. Felly, quedodd yn fawr. Rwy'n gau'r fawr, rwy'n gau. Mae'r penderfyniadau yn ymwneud gan wrth ingh�니다. Chrifffordd F1. Donald Adam. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to provide councils with resources to maintain teacher numbers. Cabinet Secretary, Angela Constance. The Government currently provides councils through the local government finance settlement with a 37.6 million pwn, ganрать aänriellur yn edrych, a 41 million pwn, gan Цifwyr yn bobl g fencesau o bethau cysylltu'r cybernvalue. Felly amp of the £41 million plus a share of an additional £10 million. George Adam, I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer. Given the resources now available to councils which commit to maintaining teacher numbers and the fact that the Scottish Government has offered to suspend the penalty of entitled to apply as a result of the fall in teacher numbers last year, does the cabinet secretary agree with Larry Flanagan, EIS General Secretary who said, the fact that COSLA has continued to resist a national agreement including the offer of significant new money is extremely disappointing? Yes, indeed, Presiding Officer. It is disappointing that COSLA found themselves unable to accept the original offer. It is a fair and generous offer that has now been made to all local authorities and I indeed would encourage them to accept. It is important to recognise that the maintenance of teacher numbers is also a condition of the tri-partite pay agreement. Teachers unions have accepted changes to their members' terms and conditions on the basis that teacher numbers will be maintained. I have a number of people who wish to ask a question. I intend to call all of you, but I want a question. I do not want any statements. If you could just come right to it. I ask the cabinet secretary to confirm that when she talks about maintaining teacher numbers that that is 4,275 less than when this Government came to office in 2007. The offer that has been made to local authorities, Mr Griffin, is to maintain teacher numbers at the 2014-15 level. It is very important to recognise that there was indeed a vast decrease in the numbers of teachers between 2007 and 2011. The numbers since 2011 had been broadly stabilised, although last year there was a small but disappointing decrease. That is one of the reasons that, since 2011, extra resource and a commitment to maintaining teacher numbers has been part of the local government agreement since 2011. Mr Stevenson, given the unacceptable teacher vacancy numbers in Murray, can the cabinet secretary advise what contact has been made with the council to establish why this has arisen and to ensure that they are taking proper steps to address this deficiency? Cabinet secretary, there are a number of actions that can be taken at a local and national level and indeed are being pursued at a local and national level. I have certainly had meetings with Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils and have been in touch with the members who represent the Murray area. It is true that, in some areas of the country, there are issues with teacher shortages, particularly in some subjects. The Scottish Government has an overall responsibility for national workforce planning. Local authorities have duties to employ and recruit teachers. There are a number of actions. For example, at a national level, for the fourth year in a row, we have increased the number of students going into initial teacher training. That has been disproportionately geared towards the University of Aberdeen-Dundee, the University of Highlands and Islands, to help to meet those geographical areas in which there are shortages. At a local level, I know from my discussions with councils that they are using the flexibility in terms of financial incentives and also using programmes such as the Delight programme, which the Government funds to train up classroom assistance. John Scott, Liam McArthur. The cabinet secretary would be aware that local authorities such as South Ayrshire Council have complied with the Government's expectations and have already had a lower teacher pupil ratio than required. Those who also have fallen school roles will nonetheless be required to employ teachers for whom there will be no job if South Ayrshire Council wants to attract their share of the £51 million fund provided by the Government. Local authorities will have complied— Can we get a question, Mr Scott? Indeed. Is it fair that those local authorities will therefore be expected to subsidise the councils who have not complied with the guidelines? It is certainly fair to say that the Government would have preferred to have reached a national agreement with COSLA. I am certainly aware of the diversity across Scotland. In some areas we have increasing pupil numbers that are quite remarkable in terms of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Edinburgh. There are other areas of the country, in parts of Ayrshire, where the school role is falling. I appreciate that there are nonetheless challenges. We will work closely with individual councils, but none the less the offer that is available to individual councils is to maintain teacher numbers at a minimum at 2014-15 levels. We of course will have dialogue with any council and are doing so with regard to any particular issues that local authorities have. Does the cabinet secretary accept that, for authorities such as Murray, who may already be struggling to recruit teachers, she will not find this task any easier if they are then subject to financial penalties? Does she not agree that the Government's divide and rule approach makes national workforce planning and responding to the changes in school roles referred to by John Scott between different local authority areas, difficult if not impossible? It is important to state to Mr MacArthur that COSLA and the Association of Directors of Education are very involved in the working group that looks at national workforce planning, and they have never disagreed with the recommendations of that national workforce planning group. Indeed, ministers have always accepted the recommendations of that workforce planning group. Indeed, for the fourth consecutive year, they have increased the number of students going into initial teacher education. I have said that I would have preferred to have got a national agreement with COSLA. COSLA were unable to come to an agreement with the Government, but I am sure that he will understand that my number one priority is that the education secretary is to safeguard the education of our children, to maintain attainment and indeed to raise attainment, and in particular to close that attainment gap. I do not see how we can make significant progress on closing the attainment gap while sitting back and allowing teacher numbers to fall. Jo McAlpine, followed by Cameron Buchanan. Thank you. This morning, in Freeson Galloway, Council announced a U-turn on their decision to cut 52 ASL posts, including teachers. Does the cabinet secretary agree that this vindicates strong action from the Scottish Government? It encourages Labour councils such as D&G, who would not have done so to commit to maintaining teacher numbers. I certainly welcome the news that Dumfries and Galloway Council has reconsidered their earlier proposals. That, of course, is good news. I am sure that it will be warmly welcomed across the Dumfries and Galloway area. As Mr McAlpine is aware of the offer that we have made to each and every local authority, we are asking them to assure a minimum of the total number of teachers at 14-15 levels to maintain the pupil-teacher ratio for schools as a maximum at the 14-15 levels. That is very important if we are to safeguard the education of our children as we move forward. Does the Scottish Government consider that education policy should focus on the outcomes for students rather than on centrally-imposed targets? I very much believe that we should be focused on outcomes for our children, Mr Buchanan. It is important to recognise that all the progress that we have made in attainment, in school leaver destinations and in some of the very important initiatives that are focused on children from the most deprived areas, that teachers have been at the absolute heart of that and that good-quality teaching is absolutely central to the delivery of education and, indeed, to improving outcomes for our children. We cannot do this without teachers and I would agree with the EIS that teachers are, indeed, our greatest asset in the education system. Will the Scottish Government accept the recommendations of the GTC to remove the red tape that prevents some teachers from applying in Scotland who come from south of the border or from other parts? I am quite sure that Ms Smith is well aware that the GTCS is an independent body that is independent of government for very good reasons. Certainly, in my dialogue with local authorities at the length and breadth of Scotland, there is certainly the feeling that some of the processes that they need to go through for very good reason to maintain teacher quality, some of those processes could be speedied up. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing a pilot scheme for sale and consumption of alcohol at football matches. Drinking at football matches is a serious and complex issue, although the vast majority of football fans in Scotland are well behaved and accredited to their clubs. The current policy on alcohol at football grounds was introduced for good reason. There has been a positive cultural shift in attitudes to alcohol in Scotland over the recent years, and we welcome this, but there is still much work to be done in this area. We therefore need to consider this issue very carefully. There are a variety of organisations such as Police Scotland and Scottish Women's Aid who strongly support the policy remaining as it is, given the marked increase in violent incidents that have been recorded in relation to some football matches. Watching Scottish football in a stadium should be a family-friendly experience, and indeed has become a much more family-friendly pursuit since the introduction of the current alcohol policy. It is important that we maintain a fun and safe environment for spectators. I am aware that other members of this Parliament and the SFA have their own views, and I encourage them to continue in their dialogue with Police Scotland. Neil Bibby The ban on alcohol was introduced in 1988 at football matches before I in hundreds of thousands of other football fans were even born. It is time to rethink this policy. The minister will be aware that you can have a drink of alcohol at the rugby, at the theatre, at a music venue and, if you pay enough at football hospitality, surely the minister would not say that ordinary football fans cannot be trusted to have a drink. Surely it is time to look again at this blanket ban. I think that for the member to try and equate a football game with that of the theatre or a pop concert, he is stretching things a little far, but he should reflect on the fact that the reason that the ban was introduced into rugby games was because the SRU volunteered to opt into that, despite the fact that there was no history of any difficulty at their games. The history has to be recognised and it should be taken account of. As I said, if the SFA and Police Scotland wish to have discussions about this, they should feel free to do so. As a football fan, as someone who regularly attends football matches with my young children, I find it easy enough to go 90 minutes without any alcohol. I suspect that most fans find that they are able to go 90 minutes without any alcohol. We must treat that very carefully and seriously, and not just simply turn it into a political football that the party has done so. I was at the St. Mirren vs Inverness Caligame on Saturday and there were a clear majority of supporters—many of them families minister—from both clubs who want the ban on alcohol lifted in terms of his political point, Scottish Labour and the Scottish Conservatives. I remind the minister, even many of his SNP government-owned back ventures, including Kenny MacAskill, the former Justice Secretary who wants the ban to be looked at. Of course, the police should have discretion. There is a groundswell of opinion in favour of that. Why does it appear that the SNP Government ministers are against this proposal when a consultation and a pilot project has not even taken place? Clearly, the member has not listened to what I just said. If the SFA and Police Scotland wish to have dialogue about this, which I know they already have been having dialogue about, I am more than happy for that dialogue to take place and for them to explore the issue and to come forward with any particular proposals. What I would say is that, if the member thinks that standing outside Love Street speaking to some fans is some form of proper consultation, he is pretty misguided in how he should undertake a consultation and engage with individuals. As I have also said in the past, given the serious nature of that, it is if we are going to consult on this type of issue and if the SFA wants to consult on it, it has to be a thorough and proper one that goes well beyond just those who are attending football matches as well. The member should also reflect on the fact that Scotland has a long-standing problem with its relationship with alcohol, something that costs a taxpayer some £3 billion per year. That is almost £900 for each taxpayer in Scotland. If we are to make sure that we continue to turn the tide in our relationship with alcohol to get it on to a more positive footing, we need to be prepared to take forward policies that will deliver that. The party has shown historically that it is not being prepared to do that when it comes to issues such as minimum pricing. George Adam, I regularly attend football games, but the cabinet secretary may be aware that Simon had a very successful fan zone in the ground on a match day towards the end of last year. That proved to be very family friendly. Children played football and there was an Xbox while adults also consumed alcohol. It was all part of an event of which football was part of the alleged entertainment at that stage. Would the minister, the cabinet secretary, support going down a route similar to the pilot that Simon had with his fan zone? Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that, as this is quite an emotive subject, it may have been better for the Labour Party to back my call for a member's debate in Scotland's Parliament to discuss the issue, as opposed to chasing camera crews around football grounds? I will miss on the issue of entertainment on the pitch at St Mirren Park. I will leave that to George as a St Mirren fan, but I recognise that George Adam has had a long-standing interest in this issue and has raised this matter on a number of occasions, both with football authorities, police and Scottish Government ministers. St Mirren has taken an approach that was around the fan zone, which was outside the restricted area for alcohol that appears to have been successful. If St Mirren appears inclined to continue to pursue that particular route, it is open to them. What I think is extremely important is that our football clubs recognise that they have to provide a family-friendly environment. It is not just about the fans of today, but it is about the fans of tomorrow. That is about making sure that the matchday experience for the fans is safe and a fun one. I am not entirely sure whether our alcohol should play a large part in that. Thank you. We now move to the next item of business, which is a motion on motion number 1, 2, 3, 1, 6.