 The next item of business is portfolio questions, and the portfolio this afternoon is education and skills. I can remind members that questions 1 and 2 are grouped together, where I will take any supplementaries at the end of those questions. If a member wishes to ask a supplementary issue, press the request, speak buttons or place an arm if you want to. A oedden nhw'r Serfanaeth Gwneudd ddysgol yng Nghymru, zi Llywodraethol i'n mwyaf o blaen lleol Obawr ar gaelion a'r newidau ydw i Gwneudd wedi gweld cael ei wneud oeddechrau i Gwneudd Gwneudd dechydig o gyffiniddol yn y gwirioiliaid Gwneuddau. Mae rwy'n gwybod i'n hynny gwysig i'w perffiniddol i'ch gwirioiliaid o gymbratau영yme ar gyfer y Gwneudd Ddysgol, sy'n cymryd mai yn 12ations the Scottish Retainment Challenge, over the course of this parliamentary term to do that. Schools in Fife are receiving over £10.4 million in pupil equity funding in 2022-23, with allocations confirmed over four years. The Fife Council will also receive another £8.5 million strategic equity funding over four years. Those long-term commitments will support head teachers and local authorities to develop their short and longer-term plans to close the poverty-related attainment gap. In addition, the Fife Council is receiving almost 700,000 in care experience children and young people's funding in 2022-23. I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer and welcome the very significant investment that the Scottish Government is making in tackling the poverty-related educational gap. I wonder if she could provide further information about pupil equity funding that will be available in my Coutinbeath constituency schools, if it is possible to have that level of breakdown of information. It would also be helpful if the cabinet secretary could indicate what assessment has in fact been made as to the significant role that this funding can play in closing the attainment gap such that every pupil enjoys the same life chances wherever they live. I can advise Annabelle Ewing that schools in Fife, including in her Coutinbeath constituency, have had their PEF allocations confirmed for the four years. That means that schools throughout Fife will receive almost £42 million over the next four years helping support schools and head teachers who know their people's best to invest in approaches to improve children's literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. A new education Scotland PEF resource has been published to support school leaders as it further developed its approaches to PEF. The sharing of effective practice, including how some schools in Fife have invested their PEF, helped staff to reflect and build on the practice to help to ensure that every young person in Scotland has an equal chance of success, including very importantly the members' children and young people in Coutinbeath constituency. To ask the Scottish Government what work has been done to close the attainment gap. The impact of the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis means accelerating progress to substantially eliminate the poverty-related attainment gap is as important as ever. That is why we are investing £1 billion this parliamentary term up from last term's £750 million. That includes the distribution of more than £520 million in pupil equity funding of more than £174 million to all 32 local authorities over the next four years, enabling them to make longer-term plans. Additionally, we provide local authorities with targeted funding for care experience children and young people. Finally, we have introduced a requirement for local authorities to set ambitious local stretch aims by 30 September to accelerate progress in closing the poverty-related attainment gap. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The statistics show that the attainment gap for pupils achieving A to C at national five and higher has widened in the last year, with the gap at higher level nearly double the 2021 figure. Given that gap is getting wider, has the Scottish Government failed to tackle its supposed defining mission? I urge caution and comparisons from the 22 and 21 results, because, as members will know, there was an entirely different way that young people were assessed because of the pandemic. However, we have seen progress on positive signs in tackling the poverty-related attainment gap. For example, since 2009-10, at SCQF level five or better, the proportion of school leavers attaining one pass or more has increased by 19.5 percentage points for the most deprived areas. That shows that progress has been made, but we are aware that there is much more to do. That is exactly why we have been increasing investment in this area. The cabinet secretary has already cut vital attainment funding for the poorest communities in Scotland. However, we know that there is another £43 million of cuts coming to the education portfolio. Can the cabinet secretary guarantee to the chamber today that attainment funding will not be cut as part of that process and especially for the poorest communities that have suffered the brunt of the cuts that she has most recently made? As the member is well aware, the investment that is going in from the Scottish attainment challenge funding and particularly those that is now going to the 32 local authorities is a recognition of the fact that there is poverty in all parts of Scotland and the impact of the pandemic is throughout Scotland. It is very important that we recognise that and ensure that the local authorities right across Scotland have the funds available to be able to assist children and young people in this time. Cabinet secretary, we know that poverty is what drives the attainment gap. I welcome steps being taken by the Scottish Government that I hope will narrow the gap, like the game-changing Scottish child payment and the £1 billion investment over the lifetime of this Parliament through the Scottish attainment challenge. We need to see meaningful action coming from the UK Government. Ahead of the fiscal event tomorrow, does the cabinet secretary agree with me that the Tories should take the opportunity to end child poverty rather than deliver tax cuts for the rich? I thank the member for that very important question because we can do everything that we can within education and certainly our teachers and our local authorities are doing everything that they can to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap. The best way to tackle it is to tackle poverty itself. That is exactly why we are investing, for example, in the Scottish child payment. However, the member is quite right to point out to the fact that, if you look at the Westminster welfare reforms, they have severely impacted on families right across Scotland. If you look at, for example, the two-child limit removal to £20 uplift to universal credit, the benefit fees among others, if those were to be reversed, that would put £780 million into the pockets of Scottish households and lift 70,000 people, including 30,000 children, out of poverty next year. We will do all we can and we are determined to do so. It is unfortunate that the UK Government seems intent in prioritising bankers' bonuses rather than children. Stephen Kerr, back to education. When I was in the education committee, the cabinet secretary promised the committee that she would publish a statement of the expected outcomes and a plan for the £1 billion that is being spent over this Parliament. When will her statement, her plan, with these outcomes detailed with the plan, when will it be published so that we can review that at a further meeting of the education committee, which I am looking forward to rejoining? Can I welcome Stephen Kerr to his role as education spokesperson from the Scottish Conservatives? Can I gently say that education is impacted by many things? It is impacted by poverty. It is impacted by his Tory Government down in Westminster. If he does not see that, that is a disservice to the time that he will spend on the education committee. If he was listening to my answer to Alexander Stewart earlier on, he would have heard that the local authorities are set to give their local stretch aims to the Scottish Government by the 30th of September. Following the analysis of that, the Scottish Government will publish that and I look forward to appearing before the education committee. Should they wish me to do so, I am taking further questions from Stephen Kerr at that point. I am intrigued by the very careful language of the education secretary. She now says that she is going to substantially eliminate the poverty-related attainment gap. I have checked the SNP website. It is very clear that it wants to close the poverty-related attainment gap. The education secretary was pulled up by the First Minister before when she tried to slip away from the 2026 target for closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Is this another attempt to try to get round this very important target to help young people from our deprived communities? I quote from the 2016-17 programme for government, where it is said that the defining mission of this Government is to close the poverty-related attainment gap. We intend to make significant progress within the lifetime of this Parliament and substantially eliminate the gap over the course of the next decade. That is exactly what my answer is referred to and that is exactly what the policy of this Government remains. Question 3 is not lodged. Question 4, Cokab Stewart. I would like to ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of its student accommodation strategy. Minister Jamie Hepburn, the Scottish Government is committed to delivering a student accommodation strategy for Scotland, which will, in part, be informed by a review of purpose-built student accommodation. The review will look at a number of issues, including supply and affordability. The PBSA research port has now been received and will be considered by a review group with recommendations being submitted to ministers later this year. Thank the minister for his answer. He will be aware that a number of institutions, including the University of Glasgow in my Glasgow-Kelvin constituency, find themselves unable to guarantee accommodation for the students this academic year and that this is the source of concern and anxiety for students and their families. Will he undertake to continue to work with institutions on the complex supply issues that they are facing to ensure that next year's intake does not face the same difficulties in securing appropriate accommodation? Yes, I can give that commitment. I am aware of the challenges that some students will face in attending the University of Glasgow. I should say that it is my understanding that all first-year undergraduates applied for accommodation by the deadline that has been set by the university who has not lived in our commute have now been offered accommodation. There are others who have not been able to thus far, and the university continues to work with it. As I have laid out, we have a commitment to our student accommodation strategy for Scotland and co-cab student and other members can be assured that we will work with Scotland's universities and others with an interest in that to take that forward. I have been contacted by multiple constituents saying that they have been advised by Glasgow University to suspend or withdraw from their courses. As they put it, Glasgow is full due to a significant contraction in the private rental market. The phrase of Allander Institute warns that this will get worse following the announcement of rank control. Further to co-cab Stuart's question about next year, my question is what will the minister do to help students now? It is interesting to see the Tory mass slips in terms of their opposition to rent control, but turning to the specific point of them. That is what I heard from Mr Gulhane very clearly. I am aware of the issues that we have made commitments to work towards a student accommodation strategy. That is exactly what we will do. He can be assured that we will continue to work with universities and others on that matter. If Mr Gulhane wants to make contact with me directly about any specific concerns, I will of course be happy to respond. Students have been venting their fury at the lack of accommodation with this Government failing to take any meaningful action to support them. Following the written answer that the minister gave to me yesterday, can he agree that the Scottish Government has a substantial additional responsibility under the Children and Young People Scotland Act 2014, the United Nations Convention, article 27 and article 29, to our young people who are under 18 who attend university that they be safe, accommodated and supported? The evidence is that this is not happening. Indeed, as we have heard, universities are asking them to drop out of their courses. Of course, we have responsibilities in that regard. I have laid out the work that is under way, the work that we will take forward. I would, of course, observe unless there is a suggestion that this should alter. The Scottish Government is not directly involved in the provision of housing for students, but of course we do recognise that we have responsibilities along the lines that Mr Whitfield has laid out. That will be at the heart of the strategy that we take forward. I am Beatrice Wishart. It has been well reported that other members have highlighted the serious lack of accommodation for students. Island students have also been experiencing major problems, just like the peers on the mainland. I was aghast to hear the short-sighted suggestion that students should suspend or defer their studies. Will the Government's student accommodation strategy include plans to guarantee students from Scotland's islands accommodation at their chosen place of study? Will it recognise that accommodation is required at UHI Shetland for those studying there, too? I go back to the point and understand the concerns that Ms Wishart has laid out, that there is no thus far direct role for the Scottish Government in terms of the provision of accommodation. I take the points that she makes. I take them seriously. Of course, as we take forward the strategy, of course we can consider that as a particular matter for the further reflection on it. The minister is only too happy to take the credit for when things go right, but it is absent when things go wrong. St Andrews has been quite a dramatic impact, as well. The minister knew that this was coming. We knew that there was going to be an uptick in student numbers as a result of Covid. We knew that there were consequences from the housing legislation whether we supported it or not, but the minister sat idly by and did nothing. What practical plan is going to make a change now, but also for next year, because this is not going away anytime soon? Mr Rennie is quite frequently as happy to derive me when I am apparently trying to take credit for the successes of this administration, but I will not linger on that too much longer. As I have laid out, we have plans to take forward the strategy. We have already taken on board the purpose-built accommodation research report. That will be considered further. We will consider those issues as part of the strategy that we take forward. I understand the stresses that are in the housing market right now. There is a degree to which we are seeking to work through that with a wider housing policy in tackling short-term lets, for example, to make sure that there is increased supply in the private sector. Fundamentally, through the strategies that we will take forward, we will look to tackle those issues and improve the current situation. Question 5 is not lodged. Question 6 is withdrawn. Question number 7 is Liz Smith. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with local authorities regarding child protection policies in schools. All children in Scotland should grow up feeling safe, loved and respected. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that robust child protection measures are in place across Scotland. Last year, we published updated national child protection guidance. The Scottish Government engages regularly with local authorities on the implementation of consistent good practice on this critical issue. The national guidance implementation group was set up last September to lead on that activity. Education Scotland and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland are both represented on the group. Liz Smith. I am sure that the minister is aware of the article that was in the Pershar edition of the Courier on 5 September, in which it reported that there had been a very high absence rate of child protection committee members. That encompasses both Perth and Ross Council and NHS Tayside staff. There was a total of 148 apologies over the course of two years, with three members of that committee missing on 12, 11 and 9 times respectively. Can I ask the Scottish Government what action it is going to take to impress upon both local authorities and health boards the importance of people turning up to these meetings, particularly at a time when we have so many vulnerable children who are desperate for our assistance? I thank Liz Smith for her follow-up question, and I think that she raises a very important point. Child protection, child safeguarding is everyone's business, whether that is in education or in health. I will certainly have my officials look into that and come back to writing. How can the Scottish Government be assured that the new national child protection guidance is being implemented in schools? Can the minister comment on how the Scottish Government is ensuring oversight of private music or dance lessons both in schools and other settings? Local authority schools, grant-aided special schools and independent schools were instructed to review and update their procedures in line with the 2021 national guidance. The national child protection guidance implementation group was established to support that implementation. A monitoring and evaluation subgroup is developing an approach to monitoring the extent and the quality of guidance implementation, and this multi-agency subgroup includes education. With regard to the point about private music or dance lessons within schools, the 2021 national guidance describes the responsibilities and expectations of everyone who works with children, young people and their families in Scotland. It makes clear that those responsible for the organisation of activities, regulated or otherwise, must ensure that safeguarding is integral to recruitment, training and oversight of staff and volunteers, and that children know how and with whom they can voice questions and concern. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support pupils with the declared or assessed disability at school? We are committed to ensuring that all children and young people get the additional support needed to reach their full learning potential, including those with disabilities. We published our joint response to the independently chaired review of the implementation of additional support for learning in October 2020. The action plan sets out the measures that we will take to implement the recommendations. We will publish an updated action plan in autumn 2022. Further, under the Equality Act 2010, responsible bodies, including local authorities, have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils and provide auxiliary aids and services. The stats show that there has been no noticeable improvement in the attainment gap between declared and assessed disabled children and non-declared and assessed children, particularly at national 5 and higher level in the past five years. Therefore, the policy is simply not working. Will the Scottish Government's approach change to allow disabled people to do better in school, and when will this be implemented? I thank Jeremy Balfour for raising this important issue. I think that the updated action plan that I spoke about in my original answer contains the measures that are required to ensure that our education system is working effectively for all children and young people. I would, of course, be happy to have further discussions with Mr Balfour following today, should he wish to raise particular issues that he does not think were in the previous action plan or that should be in the updated action plan. I would be happy to receive correspondence from him on that issue, should he wish to write to me further. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Support for people with a disability in schools is certainly an issue that has been raised by my Cowton Beath constituents over the years. It seems to me that much anguish could be avoided if there were more early and direct engagement on the part of the school with the people and their family. I ask the cabinet secretary what she could do to help to ensure that that happens in schools in my Cowton Beath constituency and across Scotland. I agree with the context that Annabelle Ewing has described. It is incredibly important that not only schools but everybody involved in the life of a child and a young person has very close discussions with that young person directly and also with the family at the earliest opportunity and, importantly, continues to provide the support to that family even before diagnosis is given. It can be a very difficult time for families. It does not need to necessarily be as difficult as it is for many families. I am sure that Annabelle Ewing has had those kinds of constituents' issues in her mailbag. I think that there is a role for education in that and a role for the wider Government and local agencies to play a part in that, too. Thank you very much. That concludes portfolio questions. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business.