Chamber and committees

That is why I am concerned, and it is why local people are concerned, about the movement of the £30 million. I appreciate that it can be—as you described it—reprofiled, but, as you are probably aware, because of funding arrangements being based on the financial year or the academic year, it could look as though there could be movement of funding in that some funding that could be used now might be taken back.

Schools have said that they do not think that it is possible to do that, and they are using their funding in a way that relies on its continuing on the longer-term basis that the Government set out last year. I would appreciate your looking into that and making sure that schools, headteachers and local authorities will not feel any detriment from movement of that funding.

You have said a little about interdisciplinary working. To what degree do pupils already get opportunities to do that? Why has progress on it been slower than expected?

Do you have any concern that the Government will not accept your recommendations on exams?

Finally, what outcomes arising from the expenditure on free school meals are you seeing across the piece?

On free school meals, my first question is about the current provision for primary 1 to primary 5. Local government put a joint submission to the Finance and Public Administration Committee stating that there was a shortfall in the funding for that. What is that shortfall and how is it being met?

I thank the panel. Given the Verity house agreement, do you have any concerns about the overall quantum available to you for education locally? Are you aware already of stretched budgets and the use of other budgets, such as pupil equity funding, to plug holes that exist in core budgets across the piece?

Thank you for answering the questions so far and for the information that you gave us in advance. I am struck by the importance that you all rightly place on the role of teachers, by the point that some have felt blocked and by Professor Muir’s point about the impact of the distance between teachers and decision makers. How can we ensure that all three elements of the diploma are applied consistently across schools and are manageable for schools to assess?

May I indulge in asking about one point that was mentioned by Carrie Lindsay and Dr Hutchison? Why is there a difficulty in recruiting maths, technical and computing teachers?

I would be keen to hear from Dr Hutchison or—

What are councils doing to maintain the provision?