Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 09 December 2020
09 Dec 2020 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Education
I start on a note of consensus after that grumpy, angry and dismissive speech, which has become John Swinney’s trademark when it comes to education—[Interruption.]
In all seriousness, I join other members in thanking our teachers and pupils, and all the support staff, parents and carers across the country who have had to work doubly hard throughout the pandemic as a result of John Swinney’s failures.
Today’s debate provides an important chance to take stock of the Government’s performance and progress—[Interruption.]
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Lewis Macdonald)
Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-23629, in the name of Jamie Greene, on responding to parliamentary will and calls for clarity in educatio...
Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
Debate time is short today, but there are several important points that I want to raise with members. I thank members from all the political parties who hav...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney)
SNP
Yesterday, I outlined to the Parliament that plans for the 2021 exams have been updated in the light of the continuing disruption to young people’s education...
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
Can the cabinet secretary outline where the exceptional, one-off payment will be sourced from? Is it coming from SQA fees or from general taxation?
John Swinney
SNP
It will come out of public expenditure because all these activities are paid for through public expenditure. However, we will not be paying SQA marker fees i...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Con
Will Mr Swinney give way?
John Swinney
SNP
Mr Mundell will forgive me—I have to draw my remarks to a close. Decisions about school staffing rest with local authorities, and I continue to discuss thei...
Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I rise to support the motion and to move the amendment in my name. I start by paying tribute to all school staff for their efforts in keeping our schools goi...
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
I thank Jamie Greene for ensuring that we have time to debate the broad range of serious and interrelated issues that our schools face this term. As Mr Green...
Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
I want to start by acknowledging and thanking pupils, parents and carers, teachers and all school staff for their hard work, especially during the pandemic. ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
We move to the open debate. I encourage members to stick to their four minutes in order that everyone can be heard. 15:47
Elaine Smith (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I declare my membership of the General Teaching Council for Scotland. I start by thanking our teachers and everyone who works in our schools for supporting ...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I draw members’ attention to the fact that I have a daughter who is head of department in a secondary school and my youngest has just started secondary schoo...
Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
SNP
We will reflect that wisdom and knowledge changed on a daily and sometimes hourly basis in 2020 as the Covid crisis progressed. Some things—some wisdom and k...
Alison Harris (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
No one is under any illusion that running an education system in the middle of a global pandemic is easy. All across Europe, Governments have been forced to ...
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
The Conservative motion that we are debating has many asks, and it appears to be a composite of many issues, some of which, as has been said, have been super...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Linda Fabiani)
SNP
The last speaker in the open debate is George Adam. 16:09
George Adam (Paisley) (SNP)
SNP
I do not doubt the commitment to education in Scotland of any of my colleagues in the Parliament. I do not doubt that they want the best for our young people...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
In his remarks, George Adam asked us to take a deep breath. I would ask SNP members to consider that it is they who need to take a deep breath. There is noth...
John Swinney
SNP
Let me address some of the points that have been raised by members. First, Ross Greer and Beatrice Wishart both mentioned the position of vulnerable teacher...
Jamie Greene
Con
I have a simple question. If we can offer lateral flow tests to students to get them home for Christmas, why cannot we do the same for teachers?
John Swinney
SNP
That is because lateral flow tests cannot be administered without clinical supervision, which means that we would have to put such supervision into every sin...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Con
I start on a note of consensus after that grumpy, angry and dismissive speech, which has become John Swinney’s trademark when it comes to education—Interrupt...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Could we stop for a moment, please? Sit down, please, Mr Mundell. I have spent the last 10 minutes listening to shouting from one side of the chamber, and I...
Oliver Mundell
Con
Thank you, Presiding Officer. Covid has revealed where education truly sits in the Government’s priority list, and it is not at the top. It is hard for the ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
That concludes the debate on responding to parliamentary will and to calls for clarity in education. It is time to move on to the next item of business. I w...