Chamber and committees

As well as seeing the harrowing images of families fleeing their homes, we have heard reports of black and minority ethnic Ukrainian refugees being denied exit from Ukraine or being subjected to different treatment.

I am sure that all members agree that no one who is fleeing conflict should have to face unnecessary and inhumane hurdles when they are seeking refuge.

Will the minister say to what extent the experience of Glasgow in welcoming and integrating refugees and asylum seekers influenced the Scottish Government’s approach to the Ukraine crisis?

In 1922, the inception of what would become the UK’s very first public service broadcaster marked an important epoch in our cultural history. The BBC, like all public service broadcasters, would produce content to serve the people, not commercial interests or the ruling party, operating under its commitment to “inform, educate and entertain”.

That commitment was exemplified when the BBC covered its first major news story: the 1926 UK general strike. Fearful amid the chaos, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin attempted to commandeer the broadcaster. During a series of exchanges with the BBC’s managing director, John Reith, it was argued by Mr Reith that such a move would destroy the company’s reputation for honesty and impartiality. Remarkably, the Prime Minister conceded; the BBC would remain independent.

There have been many significant milestones, from the moon landing to David Attenborough’s “Life on Earth” and gritty, pioneering dramas such as “Grange Hill”, in which difficult topics such as drug addiction could be explored and key messages provided to its teenage audience without sermonising or finger-wagging. Younger broadcasters, such as Channel 4, are also governed by their public service remit. Over the years, it too has brought us many ground-breaking series.

Programmes such as “Blue Peter”, which is the longest-running children’s TV show in the world and still airs today, and family favourites such as Balamory bring a nostalgic warmth for many. I also acknowledge the educational provision, most notably on BBC Bitesize Scotland. Students can listen to David Tennant explaining the importance of renewable energies with the help of a host of quirky characters including Snazzy Solar and Mighty Hydro. Many examples of what public service broadcasters have brought to us have been mentioned in the debate. However, under the Westminster Tories, they are now at risk.

The threat of privatisation is now dangled over the heads of those at Channel 4, the remit of which means that it is not reliant on Government funding, instead commissioning its content from more than 300 independent production companies.

As for the BBC, in one fell swoop, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport declared that BBC funding via licensing fees would be frozen for two years and that that funding’s future was “up for discussion”. That freeze represents real-terms cuts that are worth hundreds of millions of pounds and that will directly impact the ability to take creative risks and invest in quality programming.

The freeze undoubtedly came as a surprise to many, but perhaps less surprising was the lack of consultation with devolved nations. There are reviews to the BBC’s charter but, once again, we remain an afterthought.

In spite of the challenges of the pandemic, we have seen a much welcome increase in made-in-Scotland TV and film production, and in my constituency of Glasgow Kelvin, the Government has helped to fund additional studio infrastructure, investing £7.9 million in a new television studio in Kelvin Hall. I thank Fiona Hyslop for mentioning that in her speech.

We must do all that we can to protect those in Scotland who pay the price of Tory cuts to public service broadcasting. In a world of ever-growing fake news and uncertainty, we must defend those who act in the interests of the people, not of private shareholders.

Does the cabinet secretary agree that grandstanding on important educational issues has no place in the Parliament, and will she join me in thanking the OECD for its independent review of the curriculum for excellence? Does she agree that being open to external challenge is crucial to ensuring that our education system remains world class?

We know that teachers, too, have faced significant disruption throughout the past year. How are the Scottish Government and its agencies supporting them to deliver the best possible outcomes for our learners?

I also wanted to ask about tutoring and the expectation on our young people and children to go to school between 9 o’clock and 3 or 4 o’clock and then do additional work. I wonder how many adults would want to do additional work in the evening—indeed, I am always mindful of that impact. [Interruption.] Yes, that was a comment, convener.

Has any thought been given to the impact of that? Adults seem to think that additional tutoring is a good thing. I am not against it by any means, but has there has been any consultation with young people and learners on what they feel about doing that additional work? What is the take-up rate?

Before I let people in, I want to make a comment about the Volunteer Tutors Organisation, which I had the chance to meet a couple of weeks ago. It is based in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency, and its amazing work is being rolled out across and beyond Glasgow. I just wanted to put that on the record.

I am sorry—I cannot—[Interruption.]

Dr Robertson, did you want to come in?

I want to go back a little bit, and bring in Professor Ainscow in particular, but the other witnesses should feel free to come in.

Having recently been a teacher—well, until last May; it is not that recent, any more—I found that a lot of what Professor Ainscow said resonated with me. I still keep in touch with my teaching colleagues, and I know that initiatives and expectations for data collection and implementation come from on high. It feels like that all the time. Many stakeholders in education are quite disconnected from the classroom and from the children who come to school every day, as well as the ones who do not. We have mentioned the importance of that.

I am interested in unpicking that a little. How can policymakers and national and local agencies increase their credibility among headteachers and teachers in the classrooms, so that they do not feel that everything is being dictated to them or coming down from on high? They need to feel that they are part of the process, rather than simply recipients.

If anybody else wants to answer, they should indicate that.

Does anybody have ideas about how we can improve accountability at implementation level—local authority level and school level? At the moment, there is a lot of scrutiny and accountability at Government policy level, but I think, from what I hear, that more of that should happen at local authority level and school level.

I absolutely agree that there are amazing pockets—they are actually quite vast—of good practice. I have taken part in cluster projects and shared good practice. Our challenge now is to ensure that practice is consistent across all 32 local authorities. We can explore that further.