Meeting of the Parliament 08 January 2026 [Draft]
Mr Lumsden’s question has been informed by freedom of information data that has been gleaned by the Scottish Conservatives. If they are able to share that information with my office, I would like to interrogate it further with Aberdeen City Council because it is an important matter.
I also understand that we are not able to extrapolate from the data alone whether the vandalism was caused by young people. It is important that we do not demonise them by presuming that all vandalism has been carried out by young people themselves.
We are committed to improving relationships and behaviour in our schools. I have set out to members a range of measures that the Government has taken in that respect since 2023, not least in our approach to increasing and improving the number of teachers in our school, increasing funding for additional support needs measures and introducing the national action plan on behaviour and relationships.
The member raises an important point, and I will ask my officials to engage directly with Aberdeen City Council on the substantive point that he makes.