Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott) Con

The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-15221, in the name of Angela Constance, on the Education (Scotland) Bill. 17:04

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning (Angela Constance) SNP

I am pleased to open the stage 3 debate on the Education (Scotland) Bill. I thank members for their contributions this afternoon, and I thank the Finance Com...

Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab) Lab

We come to the chamber today to debate the Education (Scotland) Bill in its final form and, in all likelihood, to pass the bill at decision time tonight. I h...

The Deputy Presiding Officer Con

Before I call Mary Scanlon, I will just warn the open-debate speakers that they have three minutes each. Mary Scanlon has up to five minutes. 17:18

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con

Thank you, Presiding Officer. First, I have to say that in terms of developing, consulting on and passing the bill, the Scottish Government has fallen far sh...

The Deputy Presiding Officer Con

You must close, please.

Mary Scanlon Con

Finally, I want to say that I am delighted that we now have standardised assessment. I hope that no child will be left behind. I hope that it will be a diagn...

The Deputy Presiding Officer Con

We move to the open debate, with speeches of up to three minutes, please. 17:23

Stewart Maxwell (West Scotland) (SNP) SNP

I am proud of the Government’s record on education. The recent report on Scotland’s schools by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development rev...

Cara Hilton (Dunfermline) (Lab) Lab

We can make no greater investment than ensuring that our children get the best start in life. We all want Scotland to have a world-class education system to ...

Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD) LD

Like others, I thank everyone who helped the committee in our gathering of evidence. It was more of a challenge than usual, partly because of the eclectic mi...

George Adam (Paisley) (SNP) SNP

I, too, welcome the passage of the bill and support what it wants to achieve. As I have said, the Scottish Government is to be commended for putting educatio...

John Pentland (Motherwell and Wishaw) (Lab) Lab

Some aspects of the legislation are okay as far as they go; with some, it is for the best that they do not go further; and with others, it is a pity that the...

Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Green) Green

The Scottish Green Party welcomes the introduction of a duty on ministers to reduce inequalities of outcome, although we would have preferred a focus on incr...

The Deputy Presiding Officer Con

We now move to closing speeches. Liz Smith has up to four minutes. 17:40

Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con

You keep changing the amount of time, Presiding Officer. Mark Griffin made a very interesting point when he opened for the Labour Party. When we look at a ...

Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab) Lab

Let me start by congratulating the cabinet secretary on getting the Education (Scotland) Bill to this stage and on its imminent approval—I believe—by the Par...

Angela Constance SNP

I have been a minister for five years and, as chance would have it, this is my first piece of legislation. I am quite sure that, when I get home tonight, my ...

The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick) NPA

You need to close, cabinet secretary.

Angela Constance SNP

There is often a debate about outcomes in education. It is important that we talk about outcomes and how they vary depending on a child’s background or where...

The Presiding Officer NPA

You need to close, cabinet secretary.

Angela Constance SNP

By and large, over the weeks and months we have had a constructive debate about the Education (Scotland) Bill, which is very much a new stage of our journey ...