I can start on that one. With regard to the work that the Scottish Government is doing, I know that the committee has heard about how GIRFEC can be used to support transitions for disabled children and young people. We are committed to fully embedding GIRFEC—as the committee will know, that approach is internationally recognised and has been internationally replicated, locally embedded and positively embraced by practitioners. I know from my own previous practice how valuable GIRFEC is in providing for a shared language and shared plans across health and social care.

We refreshed the GIRFEC policy and practice guidance materials last September, and we are starting to refresh GIRFEC guidance on transitions. I am happy to keep the committee updated on that work, because it will be relevant across the committee’s remit.

The Scottish Government has also started to do work on GIRFE—I know that the committee heard about some of it during the session on the national care service. Work is on-going in other areas in relation to supporting not only disabled children and young people, but everyone. It is about being person centred and having a universal offer.

As I outlined in my opening statement, we have a lot of questions about the bill as drafted. That is not to say that the bill could not be amended or changed.

Can I just come in briefly?

I think we all want to be more ambitious, to go further and faster and to improve things, but we have to do that at a pace that stakeholders are comfortable with. We should not just put plans in place for the sake of putting plans in place; we need to have the evidence and the research behind that as we trial things and see what works. That is what the ARC pilots are doing: they are giving us the evidence.

I have some statistics in front of me, which show improvement for attainment and initial leaver destinations for the transitions of secondary school and special school leavers. I am happy to provide the committee with those statistics as one piece of data that we can point to where we can see improvement.

The additional support for learning work and the Morgan review are part of a plethora of work that we are doing to improve transitions. As Christina McKelvie suggested, some of that work is coming to its conclusion—some of the pilots are approaching their conclusion—and we will be able to point to the results of that work and identify the difference that it makes. We will be able to say why we want to expand a piece of work, or we may conclude that something does not work, so it is not a system that we want to continue working through.

Outdoor education has a range of benefits, such as connecting young people with the natural world, supporting their wellbeing and developing their skills for life, learning and work. Regarding recent assessments, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education’s thematic inspection of outdoor learning, which was published in February 2022, reiterated those benefits and concluded that

“increasingly, outdoor environments are being used to deliver the curriculum”.

I thank Mr Greene for those follow-up questions. In relation to Liz Smith’s proposed private member’s bill on residential outdoor education, the Government is currently reviewing the final bill proposal. As with any new legislative proposal, stakeholders’ views must be taken into account, and the full range of consequences, costs and options must be explored. We are reviewing those perspectives, the various costs and the potential impacts before deciding on our position on the bill.

I am aware of the potential closure of Arran Outdoor Education Centre, which is one of a range of options that North Ayrshire Council has consulted on. My understanding is that the council is still in the process of finalising its budget proposals and will not make final decisions until 1 March. As Mr Greene is aware, local authorities are accountable to the public that elects them, and they have the financial freedom to operate independently, taking into account local need. However, I reiterate that the Scottish Government values the many forms of outdoor learning, including the specific role of residential centres.

The amount of time that has been taken to consider the amendments has been because of the complexity of the legal landscape, especially the Supreme Court judgment and the implication for the devolution settlement. I appreciate that members from across the chamber have mentioned on several occasions that the Supreme Court came back with concerns about four areas, but they are really complicated matters of law.

I understand that members are frustrated that we have not yet been able to start the parliamentary process of reconsidering the bill, and that we cannot yet set out a clear timetable for that process. I trust that members will understand why it is important to take the time to work through the issues that I have described. This is not an insignificant matter or a matter of prevarication. It is important to understand that and to get it right for children now and for generations of children to come. It is also important for our incorporation of other human rights treaties in the proposed human rights bill on which we will be consulting in the coming months.??

I understand that the delay to bringing the UNCRC bill to Parliament is a concern for stakeholders. As the Deputy First Minister said last year, we are committed to incorporating the UNCRC through amendments to the bill. That has not changed.

I disagree with Mr Cole-Hamilton. It is not for the birds. We have evidence from some of the work that I mentioned that the Scottish Government takes children’s rights very seriously.

We are also raising awareness of children’s rights among children, young people and their families by providing national funding for the rights respecting school award, providing information on the Parent Club website and working in partnership with the Children’s Parliament, the Scottish Youth Parliament and Young Scot.

I know that Mr Kerr’s colleagues have raised that issue. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills has responded to that and said that we all have a part to play, as do schools in relation to discipline and maintaining order in schools. Children have rights and they need to learn about them, but we also need to be respectful of one another. I am sure that we can all agree on that. Bullying and harassment have no place in our schools.

On world children’s day in November, we published a report that set out the progress that we have made in relation to children’s rights in Scotland since 2016. It explains, for example, how we are supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing to deliver their right to be as healthy as possible and what we are doing to support children’s rights to nutrition, adequate housing and extra financial support if their family needs it.

Judging by the commitment to the bill that the Scottish Parliament has demonstrated this evening, we will deliver the bill and will have more to celebrate in the future.

I remember the passion with which Alex Cole-Hamilton argued that we should raise the age to 14. The then Minister for Children and Young People agreed that we would review the age of criminal responsibility and we are committed to doing that.