Chamber and committees

It would be remiss of me to speak on behalf of Mr Dey. The approach that has been used in relation to widening access has been quite different to the one that we have undertaken with the Scottish child payment more broadly. However, I take the point that the convener has made. As I mentioned, we discussed the issue with Universities Scotland very recently. The approach in this SSI has been in the making with Social Security Scotland for many months, if not longer. It has taken longer than it should have taken to get the data share with Social Security Scotland. We want to learn from that experience and see whether the proposal is possible.

I have not been presented with advice on this, so I do not want to speak out of turn. However, I want to discuss with officials whether we could lift the approach that has been used in relation to the SCP and apply it to widening access. As I said, thus far, I have not had advice on that. There is a slight difference with the unique learning number that you spoke about. I see that Ms Meikle is nodding—she may want to come in on that point.

The budget proposes funding for roll-out that is targeted at those receiving the Scottish child payment. That was also in the programme for government last September. The Government has been pretty clear about its commitment, and the issue has been discussed at length in the chamber.

I do not think that we are at odds here, Ms Duncan-Glancy. We agree that we want to engage with the Information Commissioner’s Office on all this in relation to data sharing, and we have done that extensively in relation to the SSI that I am here to discuss.

In relation to the Aberdeen widening access pilot, we must also be mindful that, although the Government has a role in relation to the budget and our commitment to delivery of the SCP, we are talking about Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen. The universities are autonomous and independent of Government, and our councils have the statutory responsibility for the delivery of education. What we are able to do in relation to the widening access pilot might not look exactly the same as what we have done to apply the SSI to the SCP roll-out. However, in all of those projects, we must engage with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

In today’s session, Ms Duncan-Glancy has heard my willingness to pursue the matter further with the Information Commissioner’s Office. I also hear the convener’s point on that. My view is that we should take learning from the SSI to allow us to move at pace in relation to data sharing. The widening access pilot has had challenges regarding the timescales that are associated with it, which we accept; however, the SSI that we are discussing today commits the Government to move at pace and it will mean that local authorities will have that data in their hands by 19 May, when the SSI comes into effect, and they will be able to share that data with families accordingly.

If any information or learning can be taken from the approach that I am talking about today and applied to the widening access pilot or the broader national approach, I would be keen to do that, with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

It is my expectation that, through work with local authorities, that will be delivered during this parliamentary session. That is my expectation and my understanding.

Based on my discussions with officials, we expect the vast majority of those projects to be delivered by the end of this calendar year. Some of them are more complex because—I was trying to make this point to Mr Ross—they require more extensive building works than others do. In the budget last year, we made provision for capital spending; this year, we have made provision available for resource spending. The funding has been made available. We have also provided the regulatory updates, which is what today’s SSI is about, and we are enabling local authorities to get on and deliver on the Parliament’s expectations, particularly in relation to the budget agreement.

Are you talking about universality?

Do you mean in relation to children who are in receipt of the Scottish child payment or universally?

We can write to the committee with further examples of how the issue is managed in our schools, to provide you with reassurance on that point, convener.

No, because that is not the budget requirement. The budget will deliver the roll-out for P6 and P7 pupils who receive the SCP and the test of change project for pupils in S1 to S3.

We engaged with the SFT directly on those points and asked it to consider the figure again. My expectation, given my engagement with the SFT last year, is that, if anything, the figure will have increased from £256 million because of inflationary pressures. That was the discussion that I had with the SFT at that time.

—but you are not allowing me to answer the questions that you have put to me.