Chamber and committees

I am not sure that I understand. Could you say that again?

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

I will use a real example: I have been double vaccinated. If I have my passport to prove that, it cuts down on my ability to pass Covid on and keeps others safe, so I do not mind having a passport in order to prove that I can keep others safe in large venues.

I have lost my place—[Interruption.]

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

Having heard from and met representatives from the hospitality sector, I understand that there has been a disproportionate impact on the sector. As Pauline McNeill pointed out, the sector is vital, especially in Glasgow Kelvin. I ask the Scottish Government to release details, as soon as practicably possible, on how any certification system that is implemented will impact on constituents of mine who work in the arts, entertainment and hospitality sectors, where certification might be necessary in order to attend events.

The transmissibility of the delta variant is much higher than that of the alpha variant, and the impact of the delta variant on younger people is even more severe. I therefore agree that there is a need to support the move towards vaccination certificates in the very limited number of high-risk settings that are identified in the motion, particularly as those are the places where our younger citizens, who have the lowest vaccine uptake rates, gather in larger numbers.

As we move into the autumn and winter months, when the huge and rising number of cases will only impact further on NHS services, it is imperative to be proactive and to ensure that as many of our young people as possible are fully vaccinated as soon as possible. I hope that the introduction of the vaccine certificate will encourage more of our young people to take up the vaccine, as has happened in European countries such as France, which saw a wave of young people being vaccinated after the roll-out of Covid vaccine certificates was announced.

I believe that the election result in May is a testament to the trust that the Scottish people have placed in the SNP Government to lead our country out of the pandemic. The Scottish public understand that the First Minister and her Government will do everything that they can to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all. That remains their top priority, with a particular emphasis on protecting people in higher-risk settings.

Ultimately, being fully vaccinated is the best defence against rising infection rates. It limits transmission and lowers the risk of the extremely serious consequences that contracting Covid can have. Vaccine certification gives us one more tool with which to reduce transmission and the risk of severe illness. Times continue to be challenging and there is no denying how difficult the decision on certification is, for members and the Government alike. I, for one, trust the Scottish Government to continue prioritising public safety, as it has done throughout the pandemic.

I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this extremely important and sensitive debate.

Like, I imagine, all of us, I have been contacted by dozens of constituents regarding vaccine certificates over the past week, so I am aware of the genuine concerns that many hold about their introduction. The correspondence that I have received has represented all sections of society. In particular, my constituents have voiced concerns that the introduction of any form of Covid certification would instantly create a two-tier system in our society, and many feel that such a move would go against the long-standing efforts of this Government to fight any form of discrimination. I am proud that the SNP Government has always taken a zero tolerance approach to discrimination in our society so, in order to alleviate the concerns of my constituents, I would welcome assurances that the Scottish Government remains fully committed to fighting inequality and injustice across our society, especially in Covid times.

As the number of Covid cases remains stubbornly high—particularly in Glasgow and across the Lanarkshire area—I recognise that more has to be done to protect the most vulnerable as we look to further the reopening of our society and economy. The introduction of the Covid vaccine certification scheme will allow higher-risk venues to remain open and will help to ensure that there are no further lockdowns in the hospitality sector—a move that I welcome.

I have listened with great interest, and I declare an interest: I have been a teacher for 30 years, so a lot of what you have said resonates with me. I first started teaching when we had the five-to-14 curriculum, so I was teaching at the beginning of the implementation of curriculum for excellence. It has been interesting for me to track the journey of its implementation and review.

It is great to hear that other countries are following our pioneering curriculum for excellence. As a former teacher, I agree that it provides avenues for children to express, for example, their talking and listening skills. I think that you referred to that when you fed back that children are much more articulate and able to debate and put their views across. Active citizens and responsible learners are part of the four capacities—I am familiar with those.

It is perfectly reasonable that the curriculum requires refinement after this amount of time. We have to adapt to a future that has changed, especially in the context of Covid, in relation to the different balance of skills that we will need. I note the statistic of 95 per cent of positive destinations being reached, which I think reinforces the fact that, with universities and colleges as well as apprenticeships, there is a wide range of positive pathways for our young people. I was glad to see that.

I noted the narrowing of the equity and attainment gaps. You might have noticed that we, in Scotland, sometimes suffer from the Scottish cringe a wee bit. We can do down education and certain other things, and we do not celebrate our successes as much as we should. Can I clarify that, in your opinion, Scotland’s education is performing well and is internationally regarded and that our education is not going backwards? Teachers sometimes get quite upset, as do parents and pupils, when they hear the narrative that Scottish education is not that great.

With regard to SNSAs, I totally agree with what is in the OECD report. As a practitioner, I found that SNSAs were not properly measuring the actual skills that we were teaching. I also found that disadvantaged children were even further disadvantaged by the assessments, because the examples in the questions did not resonate with those who came from poorer backgrounds. For example, stories would be set in castles—I suppose that is not a good example in Scotland, as we have a lot of castles here, but you get my general point.

Thank you for your evidence—it is really interesting. It would be helpful to hear a wee bit from you on Scotland’s standing in education internationally and across Europe.

I totally agree that we need to refine the curriculum. Are we in a good place to be able to move forward in many of the areas that you mentioned? Will our structures be fit for that purpose? Will we be able to do that?

I will try to be brief, as I am keeping an eye on the time.

I thank Dr Pont for clarifying the gap in relation to the concept of knowledge and for explaining what that means. In primary school, there is an emphasis on the application of knowledge—that is, getting pupils to do something with the knowledge that they have acquired. That involves problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. As I remember it, curriculum for excellence was based on Bloom’s taxonomy, and knowledge is at the foundation level of that triangle of higher-order thinking skills.

On assessments, I agree that they do not match up with what we are doing in terms of knowledge or how children learn as opposed to what children learn. Our young people are learning very differently. A lot of what they are doing involves the application of knowledge using critical-thinking skills and problem-solving abilities. However, our assessments do not measure that. We are still in a pencil-and-paper approach, or an online replacement for that.

I welcome the clarification that Dr Pont gave, because I do not think that everyone understands the situation. Everyone says that children must learn facts, but it is what they do with those facts that is important, because that is what will help society and help them in their jobs.

That issue also feeds into skills, which I mentioned before. We need people who can apply skills, not just people who have knowledge. That broadens out into not only university entry, but entry to colleges and apprenticeships.

I absolutely agree with the cabinet secretary on that point and I look forward to hearing that in everyone’s winding-up speeches.

As I was saying, there has been a cut from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product. That sounds like a tiny percentage, but it would make a massive difference to the Afghans in desperate need of support at present and in the months to come. Indeed, even the UK’s current commitment to take 20,000 Afghan refugees does not tell the whole story. In reality, the UK has committed to take only 5,000 Afghans in 2021, which is woefully inadequate.

There is also a clear and present domestic danger to all refugees, including fleeing Afghans, from the Home Office’s Nationality and Borders Bill. If passed in its current form, the bill will sever the UK’s relationship with the refugee convention. For 70 years, the convention, which was created and shaped by Britain after the Holocaust, enshrined an individual’s right to seek refuge—a basic human right. Instead of sheltering the most vulnerable, the new UK immigration agenda aims to criminalise refugees who arrive on our shores by “irregular means of travel”.

Compare that to the position of the Scottish Government, which has used the refugee convention and human rights as the foundations of the new Scots refugee integration policy, with dignity for all at its core. As Scotland prepares to welcome those fleeing the Taliban, we are incredibly lucky that our local authorities, such as Glasgow City Council, have been opening their doors to the world’s evacuees for more than 20 years.

The UNESCO chair in refugee integration through languages and the arts highlighted that a key to the success that it has enjoyed in Glasgow in integrating our refugee population—the highest per head in the whole of the UK—has been respecting a key objective of the Global Compact on Refugees: enhancing refugee self-reliance. It will be vital that partnership working with local refugee support groups and the Scottish Afghan refugee associations are co-ordinated to achieve that. In that vein, it is welcome indeed that the Scottish Government has reiterated its commitment to work with partners at all levels in order to provide refugees with the support and safety that they need to rebuild their lives.

The UK Government must hold true to its international obligations under the refugee convention and the Global Compact on Refugees. Anything short of that would be a complete moral failure and a clear demonstration that people cannot trust the UK when they need its support the most.

I, too, thank the Scottish Government for showing much-needed urgency in lodging the motion for debate. I speak today not only as an elected member, but as a Pakistani immigrant—to England, originally; I then moved to Scotland, where I have been made to feel welcome.

The scenes that we are witnessing in Afghanistan at present depict nothing short of a man-made humanitarian and human rights disaster. Having invaded the country 20 years ago, the UK and its international partners are now abandoning the very people they have long claimed to be protecting. Just as in Britain’s imperial past, the UK has never understood the people or the country that it has occupied. There is nothing great about a Britain that abdicates its responsibilities and leaves thousands to the mercies of a cruel and barbarous regime. It is therefore the Conservative Government’s moral and ethical responsibility to offer every support to those who are seeking asylum.

The human cost of the crisis is impacting my constituents right now. Only last week, I spoke with members of the Afghan community in Glasgow, and they did not know whether their families were alive or dead. At that time, most of them were hiding from the Taliban in Kabul. Perhaps most difficult to hear were people’s fears for their daughters, sisters and mothers. The tension in the room was palpable, and it reminded me of my experiences as a teacher working specifically with children and families who were forced to seek asylum in Glasgow. Families who have had to flee their home country in fear of death or worse have felt safe in my city, and I was privileged to assist them in rebuilding their lives.

Moving forward, it will be critical that the young Afghan people we welcome have access to specialist trauma support as well as language and social supports to help them to settle in the UK. Given that the crisis was entirely the creation of the UK Government and its partners, the UK Government must in turn provide the additional funding that is necessary to fully support these children.

The Afghan community representatives I spoke to were clear about what they need. They emphasised the necessity for the UK Government to put in place a fast-track process for existing Afghan asylum applications in the UK, of which there are more than 3,000 at present, and the triggering of family reunion rights, which need to be extended beyond spouses and children under 18. Furthermore, there should be no immigration returns to Afghanistan, asylum support cessations or evictions of Afghans.

Worryingly, the ideological war waged by the Conservative Party has left the UK aid budget ill-prepared for the current pressure that it faces. Even overseas development and aid programmes focusing on the education and health of women and girls have been cut.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I could not get my app to work. I would have voted yes.