Chamber and committees

That is quite comprehensive and I am conscious of time, so I will hand back to you, convener.

I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of her statement. As I take on my new role, I am looking forward to my interactions with her, her ministerial team and, indeed, colleagues across the chamber.

It is clear that, when progress has been made through the hard work and dedication of our teachers, young people and parents, that will receive welcome and constructive comments from Labour members. However, we will continue to point out, without fear or favour, the areas in which the Government continues to fail.

The cabinet secretary spoke about promises being kept. If the defining promise of the parliamentary session that began in 2016 was to close the poverty-related attainment gap, the promise of the current parliamentary session was about Covid recovery in our schools. However, with less than three months of the current parliamentary session to go, we are told by the cabinet secretary that we are just turning a corner and are on a trajectory of progress.

The reality is that our schools are still far behind where they were before the pandemic. We have heard about the failure to deliver the promise on teacher numbers. Despite a fractional increase since last year, attendance levels remain 2 per cent below the pre-Covid average, with unauthorised and persistent absence rates well above pre-Covid averages. Moreover, the Government has allowed a postcode lottery to develop. For example, East Ayrshire has one of the lowest attendance rates in the country, but, down the road in South Ayrshire, attendance rates are above the national average.

The cabinet secretary uses selective figures to claim that the combined measure for the numeracy attainment gap in our primary schools is the lowest that it has ever been. However, the attainment gap for those in primary 4, when they are in that crucial transition—the halfway point of a child’s journey through primary education—has significantly worsened.

Is not the overarching truth that John Swinney’s and the SNP’s stated mission on Covid recovery and education has completely failed? What is the cabinet secretary going to do about that, other than pat herself on the back?

I have never chuntered in my life.

I thank the Presiding Officer and all colleagues for the support that they have shown to me during my recent period of leave. Being a dad is the best job in the world, and I join the ranks of those across the chamber who are perpetually caffeinated, who spend moments in morning meetings removing Ready Brek from their clothing and who often find themselves humming the theme tune to “Hey Duggee” while walking the corridors.

Perhaps it is fitting that my first contribution on my return is on the subject of education, because few issues that we debate in the chamber are as important as the learning experiences and life chances of our children and young people.

Current experiences in classrooms across Scotland have been recounted in some detail in the debate. Violence and disruption are on the rise, attendance is falling dramatically, there are cuts to the additional support that is needed for our children and young people, and teachers are feeling undervalued and burned out. The evidence is stark from trade unions, individual teachers, school leaders and young people, who often capture that reality with their mobile phones. It is not only the Labour Party, Opposition MSPs or the media who are saying that—it is a reality in our schools and communities.

The cabinet secretary cannot continue to bury her head in the sand. Back in May, when I asked the First Minister about violent attacks in Renfrewshire that were uploaded to social media, I was assured that there would be meaningful action rather than more talking shops. He told me that the Government had listened and was taking a number of measures. The EIS said of the Government plans:

“Whilst there are elements of the plan which are helpful, the EIS has been clear that the action plan must be backed up by sufficient resources to deliver meaningful change to ensure that Scottish schools are to be safe places to learn and to work.”

The NASUWT found that, in 2025, a shocking 62 per cent of teachers were not aware that the national action plan on relationships and behaviour was being taken forward.

It seems that the view of the First Minister and the cabinet secretary is that that is all somebody else’s issue. We heard some of that rehearsed in the helpful contribution from Willie Rennie. If it is not councils, it is teachers themselves, who, according to this Government and its amendment to the motion, should be happy with their lot and stop complaining. Indeed, I think that there was an air of “You’ve never had it so good” from the cabinet secretary and ministers.

I am constantly inspired by our teachers. I come from a family that has teachers in its ranks. Teachers inspire and shape our young people, often in extremely difficult circumstances, but they are being let down by a lack of leadership. Leadership can be at the heart of many of those challenges. When I was on East Renfrewshire Council, I was the education convener, and I had the privilege of appointing headteachers to many of our schools. In doing so, I learned very quickly that leadership can make all the difference in a school community, but there are now significant challenges in recruiting headteachers. People do not want to enter that promoted post because of the challenges therein. There is a clear struggle, because leadership comes from the top.

It was interesting to hear the cabinet secretary refer to the Scotland football team and Steve Clarke. It is clear that he leads from the front, but I am not sure that the Government’s leadership can be compared to the bold vision and energy of Steve Clarke. I thought that that was a bold comment at the beginning of the debate.

I am sure that people across Scotland who are watching the debate will be asking what it will take for the Government to take its fingers out of its ears and listen to teachers who are walking away from the profession that they love. What will it take for the Government to listen to young people and parents who are worried about what goes on in our schools? If I was to have a restorative conversation with the cabinet secretary, I would say to her gently that it is clear that we need a new direction and that that is the only way to solve the current crisis in our schools.

Good morning. My questions will focus on the content of the annual report in terms of the funding and finance of SCoSS. From the 2023-24 annual report, we saw that expenditure would exceed the budget in 2024-25. That was not a huge overspend—it was £470,000 compared to the projected spend of £450,000. The committee is interested to know whether that has been resolved and whether there is a view about the financial sustainability of SCoSS going forward?

Do you feel that you are now in a position where the budget planning process will be easier because—to borrow a phrase—known unknowns are perhaps lessened by where we are in the process of transfer? Are you finding that the engagement with the Government on your needs—saying, “Here is a need. How do we get to the budget figure that will work for us?”—is a communicative and open process?

It sounds as though, given the timing, with more and more people either accessing new benefits or being transferred to benefits, it is probably quite crucial that the lived experience piece is at the forefront of what you are doing.

That is helpful. You referred to the increase in the secretariat, and it was good to hear Judith Paterson talk about getting up to full capacity with board members and those sorts of things. Has that changed the way that SCoSS works? I have heard that you feel that you are being efficient but also that you can respond to things. Is that the secretariat's role in particular?

I thank the First Minister for advance sight of his statement, and I welcome the formal apology that he has made to Scotland’s Gypsy and Traveller communities.

The Government is right to acknowledge that, although they occurred before the Parliament was established, the Scottish state and its public institutions should recognise the wrongs that were visited on Gypsy and Traveller communities. The tinker experiment was wrong and should never have happened. It exposed some of our most marginalised communities to cultural injustice, prejudice and failure. Although that occurred many decades ago, it is clear that it has had a lasting effect. On behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, I add our apology to that of the First Minister.

We have heard that it has taken a long time to reach this day. Once again, it is important that we pay tribute to all the individuals in the Gypsy Traveller community who have spoken out and have had to relive injustices in order to get the recognition and the apology that they deserve. It is also important to put on record the work not just of Christina McKelvie, about which I accord myself with the comments of the First Minister, but of all the other organisations in Scotland, particularly the Scottish Human Rights Commission under the stewardship of Professor Angela O’Hagan and others, that continue to work on these issues.

In response to Alexander Stewart, the First Minister acknowledged, once again, that this is the beginning of a conversation and a process, but I do not think that he said in definitive terms whether there will be consideration of a redress scheme. Is he able to say anything further on that? If not, is he able to say why that is and whether he thinks that redress in the form of compensation would be appropriate?

Cashback for communities does, indeed, do great work and, clearly, youth work is part of the response. However, I have spoken with a number of youth groups in my community, including Johnstone Castle Learning Centre, which is locked out of that funding because its income is under £200,000. Most youth groups that we represent in our communities will not have an income of £200,000. What does the minister suggest that they should do to ensure that their life-saving work continues?