Chamber and committees

Can you provide the committee with some examples of where the Scottish Government is currently funding residential projects? I think that all members of the committee will be aware of the Scottish young carers festival, which is funded by the Scottish Government and is a three-day residential event for young carers. Last year, 500 young carers from across Scotland took part in that. Where is the Scottish Government already funding residential projects, not through schools but through individual groups? If you do not have that information with you, maybe you could write to us with it.

Good morning. Thank you for joining us.

What Professor Loynes has just said leads on well to what I want to ask about, which relates to measuring the outcomes. The committee is acutely aware of the poor levels of mental health that are being reported among young people of all backgrounds. The building of resilience in our young people is a key outcome that we would like to see from residential outdoor education. From your experience, what would you like to be measured as part of the outcomes?

Dr Scrutton, you touched on your 2012 research paper on the benefits of outdoor education to pupils from lower socioeconomic groups. In that context, how could we measure the outcomes to demonstrate the value that can be added?

Yes.

Does anyone have anything to add to that?

Yes.

I also have nothing to declare.

I do not doubt that all of us round this table want to see that. You mentioned the worth of all learners, which is important, but the idea of a Scottish diploma of achievement is that it is an award, because people need to understand the skill set. You mentioned credit, competence and core skills, but I am not clear on how an employer who is taking on someone straight from school will be able to understand what level of literacy and numeracy that individual who is coming into their business will have. In putting the flesh on the bones of that, have you—or the Scottish Government, in the work that you have been doing together—taken that forward?

An interesting point, which you raised earlier, is about the change that there has been in that the 20 per cent of pupils who we have been talking about—those who are not achieving a nat 5 level qualification—are still in school between S4 and S5. That may have changed since I was at secondary school.

I want to understand more about the positive destinations that the Government talks about. In the Government’s response, it said that it will look at the possibility of a leaving certificate. You have outlined the value that the proposed diploma of achievement would have. For the college sector, that is quite clear for apprenticeship development, but employers need to be able to understand what skill set a young person has when they are taking them on. What work has been done on that? Although the Government is saying that it is looking at the possibility of a leaving certificate, is that going to miss the point?

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. The Government’s 2023 consultation found mixed views on the independent review’s proposals. Last year, Professor Hayward said that the independent review’s report reflected an agreed position, and she has outlined the working groups that led to that.

I ask the panel to explain the differences between the findings of the Government’s consultation and those of the consultation that was undertaken by the independent review. Given that we are all waiting to hear what the cabinet secretary will say in December, are you concerned that the Government seems to be content with the low-hanging fruit among the 26 recommendations that you put forward?

Okay—thanks for that.

I will move on to capital funding. What assessment has the Scottish Government made of whether councils have enough funding to provide and maintain the infrastructure that communities expect? Has the Government been considering the known unknowns around that in the future, including in relation to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete—RAAC? Some councils are facing significant pressure over housing, and one of the biggest concerns that has been expressed to me is about mixed-tenure ownership of potential developments. Is any work on that on-going?