Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2020
19 Mar 2020 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Covid-19 (Education)
The cabinet secretary will be aware of my grave concern about the decision. Although I know that he will have taken it in the best of faith and with real seriousness, I confess that I am very troubled and upset about what I fear will be its long-term and serious consequences for the life chances and opportunities of some of our young people. There is not only a digital divide; there are also all sorts of other inequalities that I fear will be reinforced over this period.
Will the cabinet secretary confirm that he will keep the decision under the closest review and, in the medium term, will he plan for addressing those consequences when this is over? Specifically, does he—as I do—recognise that individual schools matter to individual families? Will he confirm the benefits of keeping open as many local schools as possible, because they are seen by many families as a source of support and advice that they can trust? Will he also confirm what he believes to be the responsibility of individual schools to communicate directly and regularly with all families for whom they have a responsibility?
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Linda Fabiani)
SNP
The next item of business is a statement by John Swinney on education: Covid-19. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of his statement, so th...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney)
SNP
Responding to the coronavirus pandemic is a matter of the greatest national importance, and the scale of the challenge in front of us is truly without preced...
Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of his statement. I, too, thank staff who work in all places of childcare and learning. Yesterday, the First...
John Swinney
SNP
I thank Jamie Greene for the expression of support for the Government on these questions. He is absolutely right that the decisions are difficult to take. I ...
Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
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John Swinney
SNP
I am grateful to Mr Gray for his support for the difficult decision that we have made and for his tribute to teachers and all the other workers in the educat...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
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Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
SNP
I thank the cabinet secretary for his statement and the commitment on the funding to deliver Government commitments from the private sector. Can we have a b...
John Swinney
SNP
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The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
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Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
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John Swinney
SNP
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Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
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John Swinney
SNP
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Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
SNP
The cabinet secretary will be aware of the significant impact that home learning can have on parents and guardians. Will he provide further assurances on the...
John Swinney
SNP
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Jamie Halcro Johnston (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I am sure that the cabinet secretary and others will join me in welcoming the many offers that have been made on social media by current and former teachers ...
John Swinney
SNP
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Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
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John Swinney
SNP
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Mark McDonald (Aberdeen Donside) (Ind)
Ind
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John Swinney
SNP
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Emma Harper (South Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
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John Swinney
SNP
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Michelle Ballantyne (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
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John Swinney
SNP
Michelle Ballantyne sometimes has a beautiful turn of phrase. Edward Mountain is confessing that he is one of those people. I encourage him to try harder. La...
Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
SNP
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John Swinney
SNP
Last night, I saw the director of education of Glasgow City Council being interviewed on television. It was interesting to hear her talk about how the counci...
Johann Lamont (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
The cabinet secretary will be aware of my grave concern about the decision. Although I know that he will have taken it in the best of faith and with real ser...
John Swinney
SNP
I recognise the strength of feeling that Johann Lamont has on that question. I think that she knows how difficult it was for me to take this decision. Johann...