Chamber and committees

It is always my priority to listen to the teaching profession. I did that throughout my time as education secretary. The guidance that Mr Findlay has cited is a consequence of the work that has been undertaken by ministers in consultation and dialogue with the teaching profession and other stakeholders in the world of education to make sure that that guidance is effective and necessary to support our education system.

The guidance is founded on an important point that Mr Findlay made in his question, which is that disruption and disruptive behaviour in schools are the product of a minority of pupils. The challenge, which the guidance is focused on, is to put in place the necessary steps and measures to ensure that any disruptive behaviour is addressed, so that the overwhelming majority of young people who behave perfectly well and engage well in their schools are able to prosper in their education.

I associate myself unreservedly with Mr Choudhury’s comments about Sir Geoff Palmer. Sir Geoff was a pioneer—that is how I described him on his death. He contributed enormously to making Scotland the country that it is today: the tolerant, inclusive and welcoming country that is epitomised by the approach and the values of Sir Geoff Palmer.

Mr Choudhury described Sir Geoff as a kind, wise man. I utterly accept that. That is exactly the right description of him. We need more kindness and more wisdom in our society, and Sir Geoff Palmer embodied that. I take this opportunity to make clear to the Parliament my absolute commitment to making sure that Scotland is a tolerant, welcoming and inclusive country that Sir Geoff Palmer could be proud of.

I cannot believe half of what has been put to me in that question. ScotRail is one of the best-performing rail networks in the United Kingdom, and its performance has improved since it was taken into public ownership by the Scottish Government. [Interruption.]

I will say those things again. ScotRail is one of the best-performing rail networks in the United Kingdom, and its performance has improved since it came into public ownership.

We have just taken a decision to abolish peak rail fares in Scotland to encourage more people to use the train. Why can Mr Stewart not find something to welcome in the Scottish Parliament, rather than coming here with bogus information that runs down the rail network, which is actually performing very well?

Mr Sarwar is correct—I engaged with the company in August 2024, when I received correspondence from it, and I met it again in September. As a consequence of that interaction, we established work for Scottish Enterprise to do with the company to support it in securing its future. That work was taken forward as a consequence of that dialogue. The company subsequently contacted us, in the past few weeks, in relation to its more immediate situation.

On bus orders, since 2020, Alexander Dennis has secured orders for more than 360 vehicles through Scottish Government funding programmes, and Manchester has ordered 160. I hope that the fact that 360 Alexander Dennis buses have been ordered through Scottish Government funding programmes and 160 have been ordered by Manchester indicates that the Scottish Government has been supporting Alexander Dennis.

We have done that as part of the process of supporting and assisting the work that is undertaken at Alexander Dennis. [Interruption.]

It is interesting that Mr Sarwar’s interest in the workers of Alexander Dennis lasted for two questions, and then he got on to his usual posturing, with little substance, in the Parliament. That was the performance of a weak man in front of the Parliament today. [Interruption.]

We have seen a rise in the percentage of school leavers going on to positive destinations. This week, we confirmed that we will scrap the two-child benefit cap, ensuring that 20,000 children will be lifted out of poverty.

In the same week that we have committed to lifting the two-child cap, Anas Sarwar is toadying in behind the Labour leader in the United Kingdom to send 50,000 children into poverty through the welfare reform bill. Scotland can see that Anas Sarwar is linked to a UK Labour Government that will put more children into poverty, while my Government will lift children out of poverty. That is the Scottish Government delivering for our people.

To be blunt, I could not disagree more with Mr Harvie. I appreciate that this is his last First Minister’s question time as co-convener of the Green Party, so saying all that to me might have been his last hurrah.

One of my central priorities is the eradication of child poverty. It could not be clearer to people in Scotland that two very different directions are being pursued. The level of child poverty is falling in Scotland, whereas child poverty rates are going up in the rest of the United Kingdom. Under my leadership, we are taking action to remove the two-child limit—that has never been committed to before. That will help us to reduce child poverty, while the Labour Government’s action, through the welfare changes that were announced yesterday, will increase child poverty in Scotland.

I make no apology to Mr Harvie or to anyone else about being absolutely focused on eradicating the scourge of child poverty in our society. It is a curse on our society, and we have to eradicate it.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to £80 million remains intact. In the programme for government, I indicated that the Scottish Government would be open to providing additional financial support to ensure that the project is able to progress.

As I said in my opening answer to Audrey Nicoll, we are working closely with Acorn partners to understand the specifics of last week’s announcement and how we can best work together to build pace and momentum, and that is exactly what we will do.