Chamber and committees

Households in my constituency and across Scotland expect to see their annual energy bills rise by over £1,000 from next month. That will eat up more than 13 per cent of the average Scot’s take-home pay.

Will the First Minister urge the UK chancellor to use next week’s spring budget to halt that increase? It will have a devastating impact on many of our constituents at a time when their finances are already stretched to breaking point. Will she support the call from Age UK for an amnesty on pre-payment meters, which are penalising some of the poorest people in our society even further?

We might want to mention things such as automatic enrolment—that might be helpful.

Will planning advice note 1/2011, which is on noise, and the associated technical advice note be updated as part of the fourth national planning framework? If so, will the update take into consideration the World Health Organization’s noise recommendations?

I note the absence of data in this study on any impact on neurodivergent pupils. Does the minister agree with me that it is extremely important to collect that data, to ensure that we include and understand the experiences of pupils with additional support needs?

Thank you for being here this morning, Pam. It is great that you have been highlighting this stuff.

What you said about your mum saying, “Now I can be a mum again,” was really quite powerful. That is so important. You mentioned the legislative salad and the fact that none of the legislation is delivering what needs to be delivered. Having guidance, strategies and duties is absolutely fine, but the issue comes down to relationships, advocacy and people feeling that they have agency.

We have heard from young people and families—this has been mentioned in the evidence that has been submitted to us, too—that professionals will often identify “positive destinations” for them but that those do not always reflect the aspirations and interests of young people or the things that matter to them and their families. We have also heard about data and control and about young people wanting to own their own story, to have that agency and control, and to have choices around sharing their data.

I am interested in two specific issues. First, how will the bill bring an approach that is centred around the young person and their aspirations? Secondly, how will it improve their outcomes?

I do not disagree with much of what you have said. I hear such stuff myself. However, the part that really concerns me, as you know, and as we hear when we talk to practitioners, is that transitions should not be separate but organic and built in all the way through.

I know that North Lanarkshire Council has done loads of great work over the past 12 years. It has been absolutely fabulous and fantastic. However, practitioners have said that legislation is legislation but it is about the quality that is underneath that. We have heard them say that they are worried about the idea of having yet another plan. Plans are piling up on somebody’s desk and it becomes something to be completed. That could be reductionist and could end up being a bit of a tick-box exercise for them as well, so the plan might get in the way of some of the good practice that they are doing and that is evolving.

Would it not be better to focus on the good practice that is happening just now rather than what is specifically in the bill—to look at bringing that forward, really supporting it and bringing in legislation to support it and make sure that it is happening, if there turns out to be a need for that?

Thanks for allowing me to come back in, convener.

Bill Scott made a really important point about scrutiny really making a change in that area. I really appreciate that.

I go back to Ross Greer’s point about practice. For example, we heard about a wee boy who wanted to be a pilot. He was taken along to the airport, and he was as interested in the baggage as much as he was in anything else, so he ended up with a job in the baggage department. Will the bill really be the thing that changes practice? Would that happen for other wee boys? Would it change things for them? That is the nitty-gritty of the issue.

The cabinet secretary has mentioned harm. Does he agree that the renegotiated NI protocol could have a harmful impact on Scottish businesses that no longer have access to the EU market, as has been mentioned, while Northern Ireland businesses enjoy those benefits?

Cabinet secretary, you already touched on this point in your response to Ruth Maguire. I am going to roll what I want to ask into one question because I am mindful of the time. We are all clear that narrowing the poverty-related attainment gap is a key education priority. Will you outline the role that teachers play in narrowing that gap? Are we seeing results from investing in teacher numbers? Finally, what impact will cutting teacher numbers have?

Thank you, minister.